GIFT  OF 

Society  for  Religious 
. Education    


THE   RELIGION 

OF   THE   SOUL 


PUBLISHED  BY 

Society  for  Religious  Education 

GLEN  ELLYN,  ILLINOIS,  U.  S.  A. 

(POSTPAID    $1.50) 


£<r* 

A 


COPYRIGHT    1922, 

BT 

MARK   SANDS 


PRINTED    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


PREFACE 

There  is  One  God,  one  Will  of  God  and  there- 
fore one  religion. 

The  ungodly  strife  among  creeds  with  their  in- 
veterate traditional  prejudices,  and  the  consequent 
mental  and  sentimental  confusion,  is  the  result  of  the 
fact  that  none  of  them  directly  appeals  to  conscience 
as  our  inward  bond  with  God. 

Notwithstanding  the  universal  conviction  that 
conscience  is  the  supreme  tribunal  of  worthiness  and 
judgment,  no  creed  has  ever  attempted  to  explain 
the  might  of  conscience  as  the  living  Voice  of  God 
and  the  supreme  source  of  religion. 

Though  historical  creeds  possess  a  large  volume 
of  more  or  less  sublime  religious  aspirations,  the 
absence  of  the  Voice  of  God  in  their  fundamental 
doctrines  makes  it  impossible  for  them  to  substantiate 
the  spiritual  honor  of  the  soul,  to  establish  religious 
harmony  among  themselves,  and  to  lead  mankind  to 
that  godly  mutuality  which  is  the  desire  of  every 
righteous  heart. 

No  religious  cult  or  form  has  any  intrinsic  value 
unless  it  is  strictly  based  on  conscience,  the  sole 
might  and  inspiration  of  religious  truth. 

3 

637021 


PREFACE 


Conscience  is  the  real  temple  of  religion,  where 
the  Voice  of  God  is  clearly  audible. 

In  this  holy  temple  we  see  and  feel  the  father- 
hood of  God,  our  divine  childship  and  immortal 
brotherhood,  the  three  eternal  gospels  of  religion 
and  the  theme  of  all  great  prophets  and  teachers  of 
humanity. 

The  cry  for  religion  in  the  human  heart  was 
never  so  potent  as  it  is  to-day.  But  we  must  first 
know  and  possess  conscience,  before  we  shall  be 
able  to  understand  the  true  religion  of  the  soul. 

To  all  men  of  good  will,  interested  in  their  own 
consciences  and  in  the  conscience  of  mankind,  these 
pages  are  offered  in  profound  esteem  and  sincere 
affection. 

1922  JUSTUS. 


Further  works  of  the  author  will  soon  be  pub- 
lished in  the  following  order: 

1.  Virtues,  the  Eternal  Essence  and  Form  of 

Religion. 

"(A   critical    and    formal   exposition    of   the 
essence  of  religion.) 

2.  Soul  and  Conscience. 

(A  psychology  based  on  conscience  and 
logic  and  the  intrinsic  interrelation  of  these 
sciences. ) 

3.  The  Face  of  Cod  and  the  Plan  of  Divine 

Creation. 

(A  universal  theosophy  including  the  struc- 
ture of  the  natural  universe.) 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 
Preface    5 

Religion  in  General    9 

Origin  of  Religion 10 

God     12 

The  Almighty  Attributes  Pertaining  to  the  Holy  Will  of  God.  13 

Divine  Holiness     13 

Divine  Perfection     14 

Divine  Eternity 16 

The  Almighty  Attributes  Pertaining  to  the  Holy  Truth  of  God .  1 7 

Divine  Contemplation  17 

Divine  Omniscience 19 

Divine  Omnipresence .  .21 

The  Almighty  Attributes  Pertaining  to  the  Holy  Love  of  God. 23 

Divine  Love 23 

Divine  Justice  25 

Divine  Goodness 27 

Conscience     30 

The  Eternal  Origin  and  Form  of  Conscience 32 

The   Commanding   Might   of   Conscience 37 

The  Soul 39 

The  Reason  for  the  Existence  of   the  Soul 44 

The  Great  Destiny  of  the  Soul 46 

The  Fulfilment  of  our  Holy  Destiny 52 

Virtues  the  Eternal  Voice  of  God  in  Conscience  and  the  Substance 

of   Religion    55 

Virtues    of    the    Will     59 

The  Virtue  of  Humility 59 

7 


Page 

The  Virtue  of  Fortitude  63 

The  Virtue  of  Beatitude  68 

Virtues  of  the  Mind 72 

The  Virtue  of  Divine  Light  73 

The  Virtue  of  Wisdom  76 

The  Virtue  of  Simplicity  80 

Virtues  of  the  Heart  90 

The  Virtue  of  Love  90 

The  Virtue  of  Righteousness  96 

The  Virtue  of  Goodness  100 

The  Inward  Likeness  of  the  Religious  Soul 107 

The  Cult  of  God 112 

Sacramental  Confession  of  the  Church  of  God 115 

The  Decalog  of  Religious  Life 117 

Passions  of  the  Soul 119 

Passions  of  the  Will 119 

Pride 119 

Religious  Indolence  125 

Spiritual  Misery 128 

Passions  of  the  Mind 1 32 

Conceit 132 

Religious  Ignorance  135 

Duplicity  138 

Passions  of  the  Heart 144 

Hate  145 

Unrighteousness  1  50 

Selfishness  154 

The  Body  of  the  Soul 164 

The  Future   Life 170 

The  Ascent  or   Inward   Course  of  Life.  . ' 179 

The   Fall   or   Outward   Course   of   Life '. 190 

The  Last  Word  of  Conscience   .  .  .202 


The  Religion  of  the  Soul 

RELIGION  IN  GENERAL 

What  is  religion?  

Religion  according  to  its  Latin  derivation  "re- 
ligere,"  "to  esteem,"  and  "religare,"  "to  bind," 
means  the  holy  bond  between  God  and  the  soul. 

This  holy  bond  demands  the  knowledge  of  God, 
the  knowledge  of  the  soul  and  the  knowledge  of 
the  soul's  relation  to  God.  These  are  the  three 
essential  objects  of  religion. 

It  is  the  absolute  demand  of  our  conscience  that 
we  know  God  and  our  soul  in  order  to  understand 
clearly  our  relation  to  Him. 

Ignorance  of  God  arises  from  unwillingness  and 
neglect  of  the  understanding  of  things  divine,  and 
is  in  itself  sinful,  a  fact  which  has  never  been  suf- 
ficiently impressed  on  the  human  conscience. 

From  the  ignorance  of  God  follows  the  ignorance 
of  our  soul,  and  this  ignorance  causes  confusion  and 
sinfulness.  If  we  do  not  know  the  absolute  source 
of  our  being  it  is  impossible  to  understand  rightly 

9 


K) RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

the  great  courses  and  final  evolutions  of  our  spiritual 
capacities  and  the  essential  rules  of  life. 

No  vital  question  can  be  solved  without  religion, 
because  religion  is  the  sole  answer  to  all  intimate 
and  important  questions  of  life. 

ORIGIN  OF  RELIGION 

What  is  the  origin  of  religion  P 

The  origin  of  religion  lies  in  conscience,  the  ever- 
living  Voice  of  God. 

God  as  our  Creator,  as  our  Lord  and  our  eternal 
Father,  is  the  Leader  and  Teacher  of  our  inward- 
ness. 

For  this  reason  our  responsibility  to  God  is  al- 
ways the  first  responsibility.  It  precedes  all  other 
responsibilities,  a  fact  which  is  proved  by  the  instant 
consciousness  and  feeling  of  having  performed  a 
good  deed  or  of  having  committed  an  evil  deed. 

Conscience  is  the  continuous  and  everlasting  con- 
tact of  the  soul  with  God.  God  guides  and  teaches 
through  conscience  and  he  who  is  attentive  to  the 
dictates  of  conscience  and  who  follows  these  dic- 
tates unhesitatingly  is  on  the  path  to  holy  life,  while 
the  one  who  is  neglectful  in  the  execution  of  these 
dictates  is  bound  to  fall  beneath  his  human  dignity 
and  suffer  shame  and  punishment. 


XX^y*-1 

RELIGION  IN  GENERAL  <^1  I 


Natural  existence  is  external  and  transient. 
Spiritual  existence  is  supernatural,  because  it  has  a 
higher  dignity  through  personal  cooperation  with 
the  Will  of  God,  and  personal  responsibility.  But 
conscience  is  superspiritual,  because  it  is  the  holiest 
Voice  of  God  which  dominates  our  soul. 

Conscience,  therefore,  is  the  holy  origin  and  bond 
of  religion,  the  sole  ground  of  our  personal  honor, 
the  one  true  light  which  guides  our  judgments,  and 
the  immaculate  and  beautiful  warmth  of  pure  senti- 
ments. 


GOD 

What  is  God? 

God  is  the  Superpersonal  and  Superspiritual  might 
from  which  all  life,  spiritual  and  natural,  derives. 

What  are  the  intimate  features  of  God? 

The  inward  superspiritual  manifestations  of  God 
are  Holiness,  Truth  and  Love,  the  fundamental 
trinity  of  His  inherent  Divine  life. 

Why  do  T»e  call  God  superpersonal? 

We  call  God  superpersonal  because  God  is  not  a 
personal  and  relative  being  like  ourselves,  but  the 
one,  absolute  and  superpersonal  Superbeing,  eter- 
nally creating  and  dominating  the  existential  being 
of  which  our  souls  are  a  part. 

Why  do  rve  call  God  superspiritual? 

We  call  God  superspiritual  because  His  might 
surpasses  infinitely  the  power  of  all  created  souls 
and  because  God  creates  our  spiritual  essence  and 
dominates  our  spiritual  life. 

Now  let  us  behold  and  study  the  three  funda- 
mental superspiritual  manifestations  of  God,  His 
majestic  Holiness,  His  contemplative  Truth  and 
His  sacrificial  Love. 

12 


GOD [3 

THE  ALMIGHTY  ATTRIBUTES  PERTAINING  TO 
THE  HOLY  WILL  OF  GOD 

DIVINE  HOLINESS 
What  is  the  Holiness  of  Cod? 

Divine  Holiness  is  the  absolute,  perfect  and 
eternal  Will  of  God,  Who  rules  in  supreme  majesty, 
Who  acts  almightily,  and  Who  lives  in  His  eternal 
superspirituality. 

What  do  r»e  understand  by  the  absolute   Will  of 
Cod? 

By  the  absolute  Will  of  God  we  understand  the 
one  holiest  voluntary  might  which  is  related  to  noth- 
ing superior  and  to  nothing  equal  except  itself. 

By  the  absolute  Will  of  God  we  also  understand 
the  supreme  superpersonal  might  which  always  and 
everywhere,  through  all  ages  and  spheres,  rules  in 
eternally  adorable  majesty. 

The  Will  of  God  is  the  one  supreme  and  majestic 
Will  which  all  saintly  and  virtuous  souls  adore  and 
love  and  all  wicked  souls  fear  and  hate. 

The  Will  of  God  is  the  law  of  all  laws,  the 
supreme  leader  of  worthy  deeds,  the  sole  sanctifier 
of  holy  life,  the  most  bountiful  bestower  of  heavenly 
gifts  and  the  most  merciful  savior  of  fallen  souls. 

The  majestic  holiness  of  God  inherently  possesses 


]4 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

the  omnipotent  perfection  and  superspiritual  eternity 
as  the  integral  mights  and  revelation  of  the  Divine 
Will. 

Indeed,  holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Will  of  God! 

DIVINE  PERFECTION 
W hat  is  Divine  Perfection? 

Divine  Perfection  is  the  plenitude  of  the  holiest 
mights  of  God  in  all  their  manifestations.  It  con- 
tains the  almighty  attributes  of  God  which  emanate 
from  His  Holiness  like  luminous  rays  issuing  from 
an  infinite  and  holy  fire. 

What  are  the  almighty  attributes  pertaining  to  the 
holy  IVill  of  God? 
] — The  majestic  Holiness. 
2 — The  omnipotent  Perfection. 
3 — The  superspiritual  Eternity. 

What  are  the  almighty  attributes  pertaining  to  the 
holy  Truth  of  Cod? 
1  — The  creative  contemplation  of  God. 
2 — The  omniscient  predestination  of  God. 
3 — The  omnipresent  providence  of  God. 

What  are  the  almighty  attributes  pertaining  to  the 
holy  Love  of  God? 
1 — The  eternally  guiding  sacrifice  of  God. 


GOD  15 

2 — The  eternally  'ruling  justice  of  God. 
3 — The  eternally  saving  goodness  of  God, 

A  knowledge  of  these  attributes  is  essential  to 
our  knowledge  of  God,  our  eternal  Creator,  Lord 
and  Father.  If  we  do  not  know  the  holiest  per- 
fections and  omnipotent  attributes  of  God,  we  do 
not  know  God,  and,  consequently,  are  bound  to  fail 
in  our  faith  in  Him  and  in  our  devotion  and  gratitude 
to  Him. 

The  Divine  attributes  constitute  the  holiest  proto- 
type of  holy  life,  and  the  eternal  ground  of  the  liv- 
ing faith  in  God,  and  of  profoundest  devotion  and 
gratitude  to  Him  and  all  things  divine. 

Religious  life  intrinsically  consists  in  adoring, 
contemplating  and  following  the  holy  attributes  of 
God,  because  these  holy  attributes  are  the  eternal 
prototypes  of  holy  life. 

Our  wills,  our  minds  and  our  hearts  are  made 
for  the  exclusive  purpose  of  participating  in,  of  co- 
operating with  and  of  affirming  the  Life  of  God, 
and  of  affirming  our  own  souls  in  His  eternal  Life. 

There  is  no  greater  purpose  of  life  than  this  divine 
purpose.  No  minor  purpose  is  sufficient  to  fill  the 
life  of  a  spiritual  being.  And  any  other  purpose  is 
absurd,'  mad  and  disastrous. 


J6 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

DIVINE  ETERNITY 
What  is  Divine  Eternity? 

Divine  Eternity  is  the  state  of  the  holiness  and 
perfection  of  God,  His  celestial  dwelling  above  all 
time  and  space. 

Eternity  is  the  most  adorable  life  of  God,  from 
whence  radiates  Divine  Truth  and  Love. 

It  is  the  domain  of  the  holiest  attributes  of  God, 
the  living  heaven  of  never  vanishing  grandeur, 
splendor,  beauty  and  beatitude. 

Around  this  holy  eternity  of  God  dwell  the 
sanctified  heroes  of  virtue,  who  faithfully  participate 
in  the  life  of  God,  and  who  with  profoundest  grati- 
tude for  their  divine  childship  and  amidst  never  ceas- 
ing blessing,  devotedly  cooperate  with  the  holy  Will 
of  God. 

Heaven  is  the  source  and  life  of  holy  sacrifice, 
whence  all  divine  treasures  flow. 

For  this  reason  all  virtuous  souls  strive  with  all 
their  power  to  reach  heaven,  that  they  too  may 
possess  and  perform  sacrifices,  the  sole  proof  of  the 
soul's  innocence  and  greatness. 

Likewise,  for  this  reason  the  weak  and  the  wicked 
are  so  restless  and  miserable,  because,  not  having 
the  purpose  of  sacrificial  striving  in  their  lives,  they 


GOD \7 

can  have  no  taste  of  heaven,  and  hence  no  security 
and  no  lasting  peace  and  joy. 

All  souls  have  an  inward  longing  for  heaven. 
Either  in  distress  or  exultation  man  raises  his  heart 
to  the  heights  above  him.  Every  great  resolution, 
every  expression  of  truth,  every  oath  of  truthfulness, 
every  serious  pledge  and  every  inward  pleading 
consciously  or  subconsciously  feels  the  might  of  this 
heavenly  influence  and  power. 

Immortality  is  the  desire  of  every  soul,  but  the 
fulness  of  immortality  is  attained  in  the  heaven  of 
Divine  eternity.  It  is  this  subconscious  attraction  of 
heaven  which  causes  the  desire  for  immortal  life. 

THE  ALMIGHTY  ATTRIBUTES  PERTAINING  TO 
THE  HOLY  TRUTH  OF  GOD 

DIVINE  CONTEMPLATION 
What  is  Divine  Truth? 

Divine  Truth  is  an  inward  act  of  the  Divine 
contemplation  of  God's  holiest  attributes,  from  which 
act  emanates  and  radiates  all  light,  as  from  a  holy 
eternal  fire. 

Thus  Divine  Truth  is  the  eternal  light  and  rev- 
elation of  Divine  Holiness,  that  its  majestic  might 
and  grandeur  may  be  adored,  comprehended  and 
loved. 


RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


The  whole  creation  is  embraced  and  permeated 
by  this  holy  light,  and  by  virtue  of  it  the  whole 
content  and  all  forms  of  life  are  revealed  and  ex- 
pressed. 

Each  soul  is  permeated  by  the  light  of  truth  and 
is  unable  to  give  a  true  statement  without  its  demand 
and  sanction. 

In  all  our  mental  searching  and  sentimental  long- 
ing we  want  to  see  and  to  have  the  true  and  not 
the  false  understanding. 

Because  of  the  understanding  and  feeling  of  the 
holiness  of  truth  we  loathe  and  disdain  falsehood. 

Divine  truth  surrounds  holiness  as  light  surrounds 
fire  and  is  as  inseparable  from  holiness  as  the  revela- 
tion of  an  act  is  inseparable  from  the  act  itself. 

Truth  is  the  shining  might  of  God,  through  which 
God  is  seen  in  His  real  Divinity,  absolutely  tran- 
scending the  whole  being,  regardless  of  its  magnitude. 

The  absolute  oneness,  the  absolute  perfection  and 
the  absolute  eternity  of  God  constitute  the  resound- 
ing voice  of  truth  in  the  whole  creation. 

We  are  overwhelmed  by  the  grandeur  of  Divine 
creation  of  which  we  see  only  an  infinitesimal  frag- 
ment. 

This  overwhelming  fragment  of  creation  is  the 
consequence  of  only  a  little  motion  of  the  almighty 


GOD 19 

creativeness  of  God,  the  fulness  of  which  is  beyond 
our  human  vision. 

Truth,  being  the  revelation  of  Divine  holiness, 
must  be  searched  for  with  holy  sentiments,  with 
intense  veraciousness  and  with  the  sacrificial  spirit 
which  truth  itself  reveals. 

Darkness,  confusion  and  ignorance  derive  from 
the  lack  of  love  for  holy  light. 

DIVINE  OMNISCIENCE 
What  is  Divine  Omniscience? 

Divine  Omniscience  is  the  application  of  Divine 
Truth  to  Divine  Holiness. 

Truth,  being  inseparable  from  Holiness,  follows 
Holiness  like  a  vision  that  follows  each  activity. 

Truth  is  the  visual  attribute  of  God  and  the 
activity  of  this  visual  attribute  is  omniscience. 

God  is  superconscious  of  the  inexhaustible,  ever- 
inspiring  and  beatifying  might  and  treasures  of  His 
dominating  holiness  as  well  as  of  the  creative  al- 
mightiness  which  derives  from  His  holiness. 

God's  plan  of  creation  is  holy,  full  of  truth  and 
sacrifice  and,  accordingly,  the  whole  creation  is  pre- 
determined to  holiness,  to  truth  and  to  sacrifice.  It 
has  no  other  aim. 

God   calls  into   life   an   incalculable   number   of 


20 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

spiritual  beings  in  order  to  participate  in,  cooperate 
with  and  affirm  His  Divinity  and  to  affirm  them- 
selves in  His  holy,  perfect  and  beatifying  eternity. 

In  order  to  impart  His  Divine  superspirit,  God 
creates  spiritual  beings,  endowed  with  immortal  will, 
intellect  and  sentiment,  for  the  purpose  of  following 
His  holy  Will,  of  seeing  His  holy  Truth  and  of 
embracing  His  holy  Love. 

This  is  the  true  reason  and  destiny  of  our  life, 
which  accords  us  the  immortal  honor  of  divine  child- 
ship,  which  we  feel  in  the  depth  of  our  inwardness 
and  the  desecration  of  which  causes  our  debasement, 
falsehood  and  spiritual  misery  with  its  awful  con- 
sequences. 

This  we  are  told  plainly  by  the  immovable,  under- 
dwelling  and  everpresent  divine  superspirit  which  we 
call  conscience,  on  which  each  soul  lives  and  with- 
out which  no  soul  can  live. 

The  fact  that  we  have  the  consciousness  of  holi- 
ness, truth  and  love,  and. the  fact  that  this  trinity  of 
holy  life  is  the  basic  form  of  all  righteous  and  har- 
monious relations,  proves  overwhelmingly  our  direct 
relation  to  the  dominating  Will  of  God. 

Once  this  predetermined  relation  is  obscured, 
weakened  or  severed,  sins  and  crimes  take  hold  of 
the  soul  like  weeds  in  uncultivated  ground  and 
establish  themselves  therein. 


,000 21 

Divine  omniscience  constitutes  the  superessential 
source  of  Divine  predestination  and  therefore  sees 
each  motion  of  every  soul  like  an  open  book. 

The  soul  itself  is  like  a  living  book,  in  which  all 
deeds,  thoughts  and  sentiments  are  engraved  by  the 
ineffaceable  might  of  divine  justice.  The  form  and 
face  of  each  being  proves  this  fact  plainly. 

DIVINE  OMNIPRESENCE 
What  is  Divine  Omnipresence? 

Divine  Omnipresence  is  the  continuous  manifesta- 
tion of  Divine  mights.  Our  souls  and  the  whole 
natural  universe  live  by  virtue  of  Divine  mights  only. 

Nothing  can  live  by  virtue  of  its  own  force,  be- 
cause this  force  must  be  created  in  order  to  live. 
That  it  is  created  is  evident  in  the  manifestation  of 
its  fundamental  plan  of  life. 

The  plan  of  the  soul's  life  is  worthiness,  truth  and 
love. 

The  power  of  will  is  for  the  sake  of  our  worth- 
iness, which  is  the  chief  interest  of  our  lives. 

The  power  of  intellect  is  for  the  sake  of  seeing 
and  understanding  the  holy  truth  of  God,  that  we 
may  be  essentially  truthful  and  by  this  truthfulness 
maintain  our  supreme  honor  as  children  of  God. 

The  power  of  heart  is  for  the  sake  of  preserving, 


22  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

guarding  and  cultivating  the  sublimest  and  purest 
sentiments,  that  we  may  continually  have  the  beati- 
fying taste  and  joy  of  holy  life. 

The  consequences  of  following  this  Divine  plan 
are  manifest  in  the  noble  achievements  of  great  souls, 
and  equally  manifest  in  sinfulness  and  dishonor  are 
the  consequences  for  those  who  disregard  this  holy 
plan. 

This  is  the  omnipresence  of  the  creative  plan  of 
God.  But  a  more  tangible  omnipresence  of  God 
is  in  our  conscience,  where  God  is  not  only  our 
Creator,  but  also  our  heavenly  Father,  Guide  and 
Savior. 

In  conscience  dwells  the  everpresent  contact  of 
Divine  superspirituality  with  our  spiritual  essence. 

It  is  a  strictly  personal  contact,  by  virtue  of  which 
we  are  uplifted,  encouraged,  rejoiced  and  blessed  in 
our  good  deeds,  and  admonished,  restrained,  threat- 
ened and  punished  for  our  evil  deeds. 

Thus  the  attention  to  the  heavenly  Voice  of  God 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  and  the  object  of  our 
most  ardent  solicitude. 

None  can  live  worthily,  maintain  his  spiritual 
honor  and  grow  in  worthiness  and  holy  life  without 
being  in  continuous  contact  with  the  omnipresent 
Voice  of  God. 

The  first  fall  of  the  soul  is  the  result  of  the  in- 


GOD  23 

attention  to  God's  holy  Voice,  and  habitual  sinful- 
ness  comes  from  habitual  inattention  to  His  holiest 
Voice. 

The  Voice  of  God  is  the  ultimate  verdict  in  all 
our  decisions,  thoughts  and  sentiments  and  each  im- 
portant issue  is  judged  by  this  holy  verdict. 

The  virtuous  soul  prefers  to  die  rather  than  be 
faithless  to  the  holy  Voice  of  God. 

THE  ALMIGHTY  ATTRIBUTES  PERTAINING  TO 
THE  LOVE  OF  GOD 

DIVINE  LOVE 

What  is  Divine  Love? 

Divine  Love  is  the  giving  might  of  God,  the 
might  of  sacrifice. 

Holiness  is  sacrificial  in  its  action,  truth  is  sacri- 
ficial in  its  light  and  love  is  the  divine  issue  and  rev- 
elation of  sacrificial  holiness  and  truth. 

Therefore,  nothing  is  worthy  unless  it  is  holy  and 
nothing  is  true  unless  the  testimony  is  holy.  Evil 
deeds  and  falsehoods  are  denounced  on  the  ground 
that  they  are  neither  holy  nor  true. 

Our  conscience,  our  very  soul,  everything  that 
lives,  indeed  the  whole  creation,  is  the  evident  and 
universal  fact  of  Divine  sacrifice. 

Nothing  is  esteemed  unless  it  has  the  spirit  of  sacri- 


24 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

fice  and  nothing  is  considered  unless  it  has  some 
sacrificial  value. 

For  this  reason  the  love  of  God  has  always  and 
will  always  be  supremely  adored,  and  for  this  reason 
also  each  act  of  human  sacrifice  is  so  highly  admired 
and  extolled. 

Were  it  not  for  the  sacrificial  sublimity  of  life, 
our  soul,  driven  by  the  misery  of  its  own  selfishness, 
would,  as  a  result  of  utter  worthlessness,  strive  to 
destroy  itself. 

Divine  sacrifice  is  the  very  love  and  life  of  God, 
the  sole  purpose  and  plan  of  His  Divinity. 

Accordingly,  all  that  is  made  by  God  is  made 
for  the  sake  of  sacrifice,  which  is  the  supreme  real- 
ity of  holy  life.  Therefore,  each  meritorious  deed  is 
.judged  by  the  purity  and  volume  of  its  sacrificial 
motive. 

As  in  God,  so  in  each  virtuous  soul,  sacrifice  is 
the  supreme  reality  of  life,  and,  according  to  the 
measure  of  this  holy  reality,  each  soul  obtains  its 
station  in  the  future  life. 

Among  the  countless  selfish  ambitions  of  life  a 
quiet  and  blessing  sacrifice  always  stands  out  and 
all  who  have  conscience  and  honor  in  their  inward- 
ness lift  their  eyes  and  hearts  to  this  sacrifice  as  to 
the  saving  anchor  of  life. 

Divine  sacrifice  is  the  holy  guide  of  worthy  life, 


GOD 25 

which  insists  on  the  holy  life  with  God  and  leaves 
no  alternative  but  the  unholy  life  without  God. 

The  proofs  of  holy  life  are  sacrificial  deeds  and 
the  proofs  of  unholy  life  are  selfish  ambitions,  selfish 
mentality  and  selfish  sentiments. 

DIVINE  JUSTICE 
What  is  Divine  Justice? 

Divine  justice  is  the  eternal  guardian  of  holy 
values.  It  upholds  the  righteousness  and  the  dignity 
of  holy  deeds,  of  holy  thoughts  and  of  holy  senti- 
ments. 

Divine  justice  is  the  eternal  might  of  holy  execu- 
tion. No  soul,  no  form  of  religion,  no  nation  and 
no  community  has  an  assured  station  and  power  with- 
out the  sanction  of  the  justice  of  God. 

The  whole  activity  of  our  life,  our  honor,  our 
rights  and  our  duties,  adheres  to  and  depends  on  the 
ruling  justice  of  God. 

Were  it  possible  to  eliminate  justice  from  our 
conscience,  the  entire  humanity  would  become  in- 
carnate devils. 

Our  most  incessant  and  most  practical  work  is 
the  work  of  justice.  All  our  acts,  all  our  thoughts 
and  all  our  sentiments  continually  stand  before  this 
supreme  tribunal  from  which  is  proclaimed  the  ab- 
solute verdict. 


26, RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Divine  justice  strengthens  the  virtuous  soul  in 
his  earthly  suffering  and  bids  him  to  await  in  patience 
the  time  of  his  deliverance.  In  the  same  way  it  fol- 
lows the  criminal  soul  which  searches  in  vain  for  a 
path  of  escape. 

Divine  justice,  being  the  executive  might  of  Divine 
love,  is  supremely  charitable.  It  immediately  blesses 
and  rewards  each  good  deed,  thought  and  senti- 
ment in  our  inwardness  by  imparting  greater  dig- 
nity, clearer  vision  and  profounder  sentiments  and 
thus  prepares  us  for  higher  spheres  of  beatitude  in 
our  future  life. 

It  also  expostulates  with  and  punishes  the  evil 
in  our  inwardness  through  the  lowering  of  our  sense 
of  worthiness,  through  the  feeling  of  shame,  through 
confused  thoughts  and  through  the  denunciation  of 
our  selfish  sentiments. 

This  fact  is  strictly  charitable,  because  its  purpose 
is  to  guard  and  sustain  the  dignity  of  the  soul,  that 
it  may  rise  to  God  and  be  blessed  in  His  eternity. 

All  courses  of  Divine  justice  are  charitable,  but 
the  alternative  is  inexorable.  The  one,  who,  in  his 
malice  and  perversity,  disdains  charity  and  does  not 
wish  to  live  in  charity,  must  live  beyond  the  pale 
of  charity,  in  the  dark  and  low  spheres  of  animal 
life. 

Even   in   these   low   spheres   the  holy   gates   of 


GOD  27 

charity  are  open,  and  through  these  gates  the  lowest 
souls  must  take  their  painful  course  of  atonement. 
Their  debts  are  enormous,  and  every  part  of  the 
debt  must  be  paid. 

No  soul  can  escape  this  inexorable  demand  of 
Divine  justice,  but  the  one  who  performs  the  act  of 
restitution  receives  bountiful  assistance  from  the 
goodness  of  God  and  every  good  man. 
:  Thus  justice  begins  and  ends  in  charity,  for  justice 
is  the  executing  motive  of  the  supreme  charity  of 
God. 

DIVINE  GOODNESS 
What  is  Divine  Goodness? 

Divine  goodness  is  the  holy  sympathy  of  God 
toward  His  creatures. 

This  holy  sympathy  derives  from  the  might  of 
all  Divine  perfections;  it  is  their  eternal  breath  and 
fragrance. 

For  this  reason  everything  good  is  so  attractive 
and  beautiful. 

In  Divine  holiness  lies  the  eternal  source  of  good- 
ness. 

In  Divine  truth  shines  the  eternal  light  of  goodness 
and  in  Divine  love  dwells  the  eternal  warmth  and 
joy  of  goodness. 

Goodness  is  the  most  effective  superspiritual  might 


28 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

of  Divinity.  Hence  each  soul,  be  it  superhuman, 
human  or  animal,  wants  and  longs  for  goodness,  it 
loves  to  see  goodness  and  is  most  strongly  attracted 
by  goodness. 

Take  away  the  might,  the  light  and  the  joy  of 
goodness  from  our  life  and,  immediately,  we  lose 
faith  in  God  and  man. 

Without  goodness  we  become  devoted  only  to 
our  selfish  desires  and,  such  being  the  result,  we  be- 
come devoid  of  all  feeling  of  gratitude. 

The  eternal  sympathy  of  God  is  the  holy  bond 
of  all  human  relations.  Its  might  imparts  binding 
sympathy.  It  introduces  friendships  and  love,  the 
dearest  treasures  of  life.  It  confounds,  shames  and 
disarms  the  wicked  by  the  power  of  its  beauty  and 
innocence. 

Not  only  men  but  even  animals  are  enthralled  by 
goodness  and  made  better  by  its  might. 

For  this  reason,  and  particularly  in  our  low  world, 
goodness  has  the  greatest  saving  might.  It  saves 
the  sinner  from  habitual  trespasses.  It  paves  the 
path  to  heaven,  for  in  itself  it  is  the  divine  guide  to 
heaven  that  gently  invites  our  souls  to  Divine  eternity, 
the  final  goal  of  our  life. 

Goodness  is  the  eternal  beauty  of  Divinity.  Hence 
no  man,  regardless  of  fame,  is  beautiful  unless  he  is 
good. 


GOD 29 

As  in  God  goodness  constitutes  the  last  attribute 
of  His  almighty  love,  thus  in  man  the  test  of  his  true 
honor,  worthiness  and  sublimity  of  character  is  found 
in  the  degree  of  his  goodness. 

Therefore,  according  to  the  measure  of  his  good 
deeds  he  receives  his  deserved  station  in  the  future 
life. 


CONSCIENCE 

What  is  conscience? 

Conscience  is  the  living  image  of  Divinity,  the 
living  reflex  of  Divine  life  and  the  sublimest  gift 
of  God. 

To  what  end  does  Cod  create  conscience? 

God  creates  conscience  for  the  sake  of  the  soul, 
that  it  may  participate  in  divine  life,  cooperate  with 
His  holy  Will  and  affirm  God  in  its  inwardness  and 
itself  in  God. 

What  does  conscience  effect  in  our  soul? 

Conscience  effects  in  our  soul  its  affinity  to  God, 
its  affiliation  with  God  and  the  power  of  imitating 
God's  holiest  life. 

The  consequence  of  this  state  is  that  conscience 
constitutes  the  holy  form  of  our  soul,  which  is  the 
ground,  the  bond  and  the  might  of  religion. 

For  this  reason  the  might  of  conscience  is  the 
sole  urging,  enlightening  and  righteous  might  of  the 
soul. 

Everything  sublime  and  important  is  performed 
through  conscience  and  everything  base  is  performed 
without  conscience. 

30 


CONSCIENCE  31 


All  great  deeds,  all  profound  convictions  and  all 
spiritual  sacrifices  have  their  source  in  the  sacredness 
of  conscience. 

Religion  in  its  purity  is  the  simple  life  of  conscience 
and  the  fact  that,  in  our  human  cults,  conscience  has 
not  been  propounded  and  explained  as  the  sole 
source  and  form  of  religion  accounts  for  the  failure 
of  the  living  faith  in  God  and  for  the  selfish  ambi- 
tions, envies,  jealousies,  greed  and  worldy  lust  of 
men  under  the  cover  of  religion. 

Conscience  is  the  most  palpable  gift  of  God. 
Everybody  refers  to  conscience,  everybody  uses 
conscience  and  everybody  depends  on  it,  but  only 
a  few  love  conscience  and  make  it  the  chief  interest 
of  deeds,  thoughts  and  sentiments. 

Where  the  interest  in  conscience  is  tardy  and  pas- 
sive, selfish  and  dishonorable  aims  become  the  chief 
interest  of  our  lives. 

Without  conscience,  no  love  of  God,  no  love  of 
our  neighbor,  no  righteousness,  no  mutuality  among 
men,  no  living  religion,  no  true  sense  of  human  dig- 
nity, no  esteem  for  virtue,  no  truthfulness  and  no 
pure  sentiments  can  exist.  It  cannot  be  otherwise,  for 
conscience  is  the  sacrificial  form  of  the  speaking 
Voice  of  God  and  the  living  reflex  of  His  holiest 
attributes. 


32 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL  

THE  ETERNAL  ORIGIN  AND  FORM  OF 
CONSCIENCE 

The  manifestation  of  any  power  or  force  of  life 
is  possible  only  when  there  is  an  origin  and  motive 
for  its  manifestation. 

Since  conscience  is  the  imperative  manifestation 
of  worthy  life,  its  origin  and  motive  lies  in  Divine 
holiness,  the  absolute  Will  of  God. 

That  conscience  imparts  to  and  demands  from  us 
worthiness,  truth  and  love  is  a  universally  accepted 
fact  which  cannot  be  denied  even  by  the  wicked. 
Each  soul  appeals  to  the  might  of  conscience  though 
it  does  not  always  follow  it. 

Conscience,  being  our  supreme  law  and  sole  power 
of  right,  can  only  derive  from  the  holiness  of  God, 
the  sole  source  and  might  of  all  laws. 

No  law  is  as  complete,  concrete  and  consistent  as 
conscience,  for,  issuing  from  the  holiness,  truth  and 
love  of  God,  it  constitutes  the  immutable  ground, 
course  and  aim  of  worthy  life. 

If  this  holy  fact  is  not  clearly  understood  and  not 
accepted  as  the  supreme  guide  of  life,  the  logical  and 
rightful  basis  for  religion,  personal  honor,  veracity 
and  love  of  worthy  life  is  impossible. 

Conscience  is  the  formal  sacrificial  emanation  of 
Divine  attributes.  Its  form  is  as  commanding  as  the 
Divine  attributes  are  majestic. 


CONSCIENCE  33 


It  leads,  inspires,  enlightens,  beatifies  and  sanctifies 
each  soul  which  has  not  denied  its  spiritual  dignity. 

It  is  the  first  recourse  of  the  righteous  and  the  last 
refuge  of  the  sinner. 

All  inward  and  lasting  joy  derives  from  the 
blessing  consecration  of  good  deeds  and  all  inward 
wretchedness  from  the  denunciation  of  conscience 
for  our  evil  deeds. 

Conscience  is  the  supreme  rule  of  life,  because  it 
represents  the  holy  Will  of  God.  All  determina- 
tions, all  visions  and  all  inward  convictions  are  sub- 
jected to  its  holy  scrutiny.  Its  verdict  is  supreme. 

Conscience  is  the  most  religious  fact  in  our  life 
and  the  one  who  does  not  adore,  contemplate  and 
love  conscience  over  everything  else  has  no  religion 
in  his  inwardness. 

True  spiritual  inwardness  consists  in  the  life  in 
conscience,  with  conscience  and  according  to  con- 
science, for  conscience  is  the  sole  living  contact,  the 
indissoluble  bond  of  the  soul  with  God  and  the 
highest  title  and  noblest  distinction  of  our  divine 
childship. 

Conscience  is  the  living  image  of  Divine  attributes, 
the  superspiritual  ground  according  to  which  the  soul 
is  formed  and  on  which  the  soul  essentially  lives  for 
the  sake  of  participating  in,  cooperating  with  and 
affirming  itself  in  the  holiest  life  of  God. 


34  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

As  the  superspiritual  reflex  of  Divine  attributes, 
it  must  be  absolutely  formal,  and,  being  the  dominat- 
ing factor  of  the  soul's  life,  it  is  absolutely  concrete 
and  consistent  in  its  order  and  in  its  demand. 

For  this  reason  conscience  is  the  holy  urger  of  our 
wills,  the  holy  torch  of  our  intellects  and  the  holy 
guardian  of  our  hearts. 

The  superspiritual  form  of  conscience  follows  the 
holy  mights  of  God,  as  each  movement  follows  its 
motor.  Spiritual  worthiness  follows  superspiritual 
holiness,  spiritual  truthfulness  follows  superspiritual 
truth,  and  spiritual  love  follows  superspiritual  sacri- 
fice. 

This  trinity  of  Divine  mights  is  clearly  evident  in 
conscience  and  everybody  appeals  to  these  Divine 
mights  as  to  the  highest  causes  of  our  life.  Here 
man  protests  his  worthiness  or  his  submission  to 
worthiness.  Here  he  invokes  the  holy  testimony  of 
divine  truth  or  is  confounded  by  it,  and  here  he 
receives  the  assurance  of  worthiness  in  the  perform- 
ance of  virtuous  deeds  or  the  condemnation  for 
unholy  and  selfish  deeds. 

In  what  consists  the  formality  of  conscience? 

The  formality  of  conscience  consists  in  the  formal 
reflex  of  and  correspondence  with  Divine  attributes, 
which  are  its  eternal  prototype. 


CONSCIENCE  35 


Holiness  is  the  principle  of  Divinity,  Perfection 
is  its  course  and  Eternity  its  aim. 

Accordingly,  worthiness  is  the  superspiritual 
principle  of  conscience,  fortitude  is  its  course,  and 
beatitude  its  aim. 

As  the  holiness  of  God  inherently  possesses  per- 
fection and  eternity,  thus,  in  the  reflecting  form  of 
conscience,  worthiness  possesses  fortitude  and  beati- 
tude. 

Pertaining  to  Divine  truth,  the  same  threefold 
form  of  conscience  is  plainly  seen. 

Divine  truth  is  the  contemplating  might  of  God 
and,  as  such,  is  omniscient  and  omnipresent,  omni- 
science being  the  course  and  omnipresence  the  aim 
of  this  contemplating  Divine  might. 

Accordingly,  the  contemplating  might  of  God 
reflects  divine  light,  as  the  principal  form  of  con- 
science pertaining  to  truth. 

Divine  omniscience  reflects  wisdom  in  conscience, 
as  the  course  of  rational  understanding  of  things 
divine. 

And  Divine  omnipresence  reflects  simplicity,  as 
the  evident  aim  of  truthful  life  and  truthful  state- 
ments. 

Pertaining  to  Divine  Love,  the  threefold  form  of 
conscience  is  equally  clear. 

Divine  Love  is  the  sacrificial  might  of  God  and. 


36 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

as  such,  contains  absolute  justice  and  goodness, 
justice  being  the  course  and  goodness  its  final  aim 
and  revelation. 

Accordingly,  the  sacrificial  might  of  God  reflects 
sacrifice  as  the  principal  form  of  conscience  pertain- 
ing to  love. 

Divine  justice  reflects  righteousness  in  conscience 
as  the  formal  course  of  pure  love. 

And  Divine  goodness  reveals  in  conscience  the 
divine  origin  of  conscience,  with  its  most  potent, 
beautiful  and  practical  effectiveness  of  worthy  life. 

This  logical  consistency  of  Divine  attributes  with 
the  forms  of  conscience  must  be  fully  understood  in 
order  that  we  may  see  clearly  the  overwhelming  im- 
portance of  religious  life. 

It  is  through  these  holy  forms  of  conscience  that 
we  see  and  feel  the  mights  of  God  with  their  un- 
fathomable profundity,  awe  inspiring  immutability 
and  incomparable  sublimity. 

Each  of  these  holy  forms  of  conscience  speaks  in 
our  inwardness  of  God  and  not  only  urges  our  self- 
consciousness  to  seek  for  God  and  to  contemplate 
His  holy  mights,  but  it  also  urges  our  self-sentiency 
to  follow  Him. 

For  no  other  reason  except  for  the  sake  of  fol- 
lowing God  are  we  endowed  with  this  living  reflex 


CONSCIENCE  37 


of  Divinity,  the  sublimest  and  most  precious  gift  of 
our  souls. 

In  this  holy  form  of  conscience  we  see  the  majestic 
order  of  Divine  attributes,  the  real  Face  of  God, 
and  we  hear  His  absolute  and  sanctifying  Voice  as 
the  eternal  oracle  of  all  life. 

From  this  holy  source  are  derived  the  inspirations 
of  all  great  prophecies,  great  illuminating  thoughts 
and  the  profoundest  sentiments  of  holy  love. 

Thus  the  Voice  of  God  is  the  eternal  object  of 
the  religious  sacramentality  of  the  soul,  and  the  one 
who  possesses  profound  love  of  conscience,  possesses 
the  supreme  power  of  divine  sonship. 

THE  COMMANDING  MIGHT  OF  CONSCIENCE 

Since  conscience  is  the  issue  of  the  majestic  holi- 
ness of  God,  it  in  itself  constitutes  the  commanding 
and  sanctifying  might  of  the  soul. 

Each  form  of  conscience  constitutes  a  command- 
ment, because  each  of  its  dictates  is  sanctifying. 

Each  commandment  demands  the  virtue  of  each 
particular  form  of  our  spiritual  soul,  that  each  form 
of  our  will,  intellect  and  sentiment  may  be  sanc- 
tified. 

Therefore,  the  frame  of  virtues  corresponds  with 
the  frame  of  conscience,  as  the  frame  of  conscience 


38 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

corresponds  with  the  prototype  of  the  holiest  at- 
tributes of  God. 

All  we  require  to  see  is  the  correspondence  of  the 
forms  of  our  soul  with  conscience  and  the  necessity 
of  virtues  as  the  ground  and  aim  of  existence. 

This  will  give  us  the  clear  view  of  the  plan  of 
the  superspiritual  and  spiritual  creation  of  God,  the 
understanding  of  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
every  seriously  religious  man. 

There  is  an  absolute  order  in  Divine  creation. 
This  order  lies  eternally  in  the  Divine  attributes, 
from  which  all  order  derives.  And,  if  this  order  is 
not  clearly  understood,  we  can  have  neither  living 
faith  in  nor  devotion  and  gratitude  to  God. 


THE  SOUL 

What  is  the  soul? 

The  soul  is  a  spiritual  force  consisting  in  self- 
conscious  and  self -sentient  autonomic  will. 

Why  is  the  soul  a  personal  being? 

The  soul  is  a  spiritual  and  personal  being  because 
it  is  the  created  reflex  of  the  superspiritual  and  super- 
personal  Superbeing  of  God,  from  Whom  it  is  con- 
tinually dependent. 

Why  has  the  soul  a  free  will? 

The  soul  has  a  free  will  in  order  freely  to  par- 
ticipate in,  freely  to  cooperate  with  and  freely  to 
affirm  God,  and  by  so  doing  affirm  itself  in  God. 

If  the  soul  were  not  free,  the  spiritual  essence  of 
the  soul  could  not  exist;  it  would  not  be  a  spiritual 
being,  but  a  natural  thing ;  it  could  have  no  personal 
responsibility,  attain  no  personal  merit  and  no  joy 
deriving  therefrom.  All  joy  derives  from  the  merit 
of  a  highly  accomplished  responsibility. 

Why  is  the  soul's  will  self-conscious? 

The  will  of  the  soul  is  self-conscious  because  it 
must  know  its  own  relative  capacity;  it  must  know 

39 


40  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

the  superspiritual  rule  of  its  spiritual  life;  it  must 
know  the  merit  of  its  existential  station  and  the 
honor  deriving  from  the  choice  of  good  actions  as 
well  as  the  debasement  following  the  choice  of  evil 
actions. 

Thus  the  fundamental  meaning  of  the  will's  self- 
consciousness  is  the  consciousness  of  conscience.  Only 
in  the  eternal  mirror  of  conscience  does  the  self- 
conscious  will  see  its  actual  form  and  capacity. 

The  fact  that  our  religious  and  psychological 
sciences  have  thus  far  been  unable  to  explain  this 
essential  problem  of  knowledge  accounts  for  our 
failure  to  understand  the  first  principles  of  life,  and 
our  consequent  inefficiency  in  religious  actions. 

Every  man,  without  any  exception,  has  the  ex- 
perience that  the  oftener  he  looks  into  the  holy  mirror 
of  conscience,  the  more  plainly  he  sees  the  mights  of 
God  and  the  more  palpably  he  feels  the  religious 
might  which  holds,  enlightens  and  leads  his  soul. 

Why  is  the  soul's  rvlll  self -sentient? 

The  soul's  will  is  self-sentient  because  it  must  feel 
the  del:ght  of  its  existence  for  worthiness,  the  delight 
of  all  its  good  deeds,  thoughts  and  sentiments,  as 
well  as  the  shame  and  depression  resulting  from 
evil  deeds,  evil  thoughts  and  evil  sentiments. 

The  main  interest  of  the  will  is  in  its  self-sentiency. 


THE  SOUL  41 


because  self-sentiency  is  the  center  of  the  heart,  the 
fruitional  focus  of  the  soul's  life. 

The  chief  labor  of  the  will  dwells  in  its  self- 
sentiency,  the  sentimental  ground  in  which  all  senti- 
ments are  implanted  and  cultivated  in  order  to  bear 
the  sacrificial  fruit  of  holy  life. 

For  this  reason  the  sentiments  which  the  will  has 
chosen,  acquired  and  placed  in  its  heart  constitute 
the  real  property  of  the  soul,  which  neither  God  nor 
man  can  destroy  without  the  consent  of  the  soul's 
will. 

In  this  fact  the  freedom  of  the  will  is  seen  most 
clearly.  Sentiments  cannot  be  wholly  given  away 
nor  can  they  be  taken  away.  They  constitute  the 
most  deeply  inrooted  property  of  the  soul.  They 
can  however  be  uplifted  by  divine  operation  or  de- 
based by  willful  rejection  of  the  divine  operation  in 
conscience. 

In  what  relation  is  consciousness  to  self -conscious" 
ness? 

Consciousness  relates  to  self-consciousness  as  does 
the  movement  to  the  motor.  Consciousness  is  the 
course  of  self-consciousness  by  which  the  self-con- 
scious will  obtains  general  knowledge. 

The  principle  of  intellect  lies  in  self -consciousness, 
as  the  integral  part  of  the  soul's  will,  while  intellect 


42  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

as  such,  is  the  process  or  course  of  the  self-conscious 
will  through  which  it  obtains  general  knowledge. 

Consequently,  religious  knowledge  always  de- 
pends on  the  religious  self -consciousness  of  the  soul's 
will.  If  the  will  earnestly  wishes  to  attain  religious 
knowledge,  it  can  always  obtain  this  sacred  pos- 
session. 

If  however  the  will  does  not  earnestly  wish  to  do 
so,  it  cannot  obtain  this  knowledge.  Religious 
knowledge  is  the  most  sacred  and  precious  knowl- 
edge and  can  be  attained  only  through  the  most 
profound  determination.  This  fact  gives  us  the 
psychological  insight  into  the  reason  why  some  ob- 
tain religious  vision  and  education  and  why  others 
remain  in  ignorance  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  re- 
ligion. 

The  first  sign  of  profound  intelligence  is  the 
earnest  and  intense  searching  for  religion  in  the  soul ; 
for  the  divine  purpose  in  us.  The  whole  formation 
of  man's  character  depends  on  the  earnestness  of 
this  search. 

One  may  be  ever  so  learned  in  many  sciences,  yet, 
if  he  has  neglected  religion  as  the  first  science  of  life, 
he  remains  a  weak  character.  There  is  no  science 
except  religion  that  can  educate  a  great  character. 

We  see  that  a  child  is  a  practical  materialist,  be- 
cause it  is  too  ignorant  and  selfish  to  understand  the 


THE  SOUL  43 


spiritual  values  of  life.  We  know  that  in  our 
progressing  years  we  begin  to  philosophize  on  the 
problem  of  life,  either  dogmatically  or  skeptically, 
and,  in  our  maturity,  we  usually  decide  to  cling  to 
religious  and  moral  values  under  one  form  or  an- 
other. 

What  is  the  relation  of  sentiment  to  self-sentiency? 

Sentiment  is  in  the  same  relation  to  self-sentiency 
as  is  consciousness  to  self-consciousness.  Self-senti- 
ency is  the  principle  of  feeling  and  sentiment  its 
process  or  movement.  All  sentiments  are  absorbed 
by  the  self-sentiency  of  the  will  into  the  inwardness 
of  its  heart,  the  vessel  of  all  its  acquisitions. 

The  will  has  the  power  to  acquire  whatever  senti- 
ments it  wants.  Its  inherent  capacity  is  to  seize.  Its 
self-consciousness  furnishes  the  light  with  which  the 
will  makes  its  choice.  And  self-sentiency  is  the 
place  where  all  the  acquisitions  of  the  will  are  in- 
stalled and  held. 

The  will  is  the  obtainer  and  the  giver  of  senti- 
ments. If  the  will  has  acquired  good  sentiments  and 
given  good  sentiments,  it  has  obtained  the  best  it 
could  obtain  and  has  given  the  best  it  could  give. 
If  the  will  has  acquired  evil  sentiments  and  imparted 
evil  sentiments,  it  has  obtained  the  worst  it  could 
obtain  and  has  given  the  worst  it  could  give. 


44  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

It  is  always  the  choice  of  the  will  which  makes 
its  own  heart  and  it  is  always  according  to  the  good 
or  evil  content  of  the  heart  that  the  soul  is  judged. 

The  content  of  the  heart  is  the  sole  real  property 
of  the  soul.  Inwardly  the  soul  can  do  nothing  ex- 
cept to  make  and  to  unmake  its  own  sentiments  ac- 
cording to  which  all  external  acquisitions  and  pos- 
sessions are  measured  and  valued. 

i 

THE  REASON  FOR  THE  EXISTENCE  OF  THE  SOUL 

Like  anything  else  that  exists  the  soul  must  be 
understood  not  only  according  to  its  intrinsic  capacity 
for  but  also  according  to  its  intrinsic  purpose  of 
existence. 

The  soul's  inward  capacity  is  self-conscious  and 
self-sentient  volition. 

The  will  of  the  soul  is  created  for  a  purpose,  be- 
cause its  whole  capacity  consists  of  purposefulness. 
Its  self-consciousness  is  for  the  purpose  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  its  life,  and  its  self-sentiency  for  the  inward 
feeling  of  the  necessity  of  this  purpose  and  the  joy 
of  its  possession. 

If  we  do  not  know  the  "reason  why"  of  our  life 
we  know  nothing  real,  and  any  attempted  inter- 
pretation without  this  fundamental  religious  under- 
standing is  necessarily  futile. 


THE  SOUL  45 


What  then  is  the  intrinsic  purpose  of  the  existence 
•  of  the  soul? 

Speaking  of  existence,  we  must  understand  that 
existence  is  not  a  cause  but  a  state  which  is  caused, 
and  everything  that  exists  is  caused  with  a  purpose. 

The  almightly  Causator  of  all  purposes  is  God. 
There  is  none  besides  Him  who  can  cause  anything 
that  bears  the  mark  of  absoluteness,  such  as  is  clearly 
manifested  in  the  absolute  lawfulness  of  the  soul's 
capacity  and  of  the  whole  natural  creation. 

Thus  the  intrinsic  purpose  of  the  existence  of  the 
soul  is  the  divine  purpose,  the  purpose  of  the  al- 
mighty holiness  of  God,  the  purpose  of  the  holiest 
truth  of  God  and  the  purpose  of  the  holiest  love  of 
God  which  lives  on  Divine  sacrifice. 

This  divine  purpose  of  the  creation  of  the  soul 
causes  the  soul's  affinity  to  God,  the  soul's  affiliation 
with  God  and  the  soul's  power  of  imitating  God; 
which  means,  that  the  soul  is  created  for  the  partici- 
pation in  Divine  life,  for  the  cooperation  with  Divine 
life  and  for  the  affirmation  of  the  holy  Source  of  its 
life  as  well  as  for  the  affirmation  of  its  own  life  in 
the  life  of  God. 

This  is  the  holy  and  majestic  purpose  of  our 
existence.  We  perceive  the  urgency  of  this  pur- 
pose in  all  worthy  decisions,  we  experience  its  truth 
in  the  necessity  for  our  truthfulness  and  we  feel  the 


46  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

joy  of  this  holy  purpose  in  all  sacrificial  and  un- 
selfish deeds  of  love. 

This  holy  purpose  is  the  ground  on  which  the 
soul  marches  to  its  destiny.  It  is  the  light  through 
which  all  things  are  seen  in  their  naked  truth,  and 
it  is  the  holy  warmth  of  love  which  seeks  for  no  ad- 
vantage over  others  but  is  happy  to  impart  its  in- 
ward and  outward  possessions  for  the  service  of  its 
fellow  creatures. 

Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  resounding  hymn  of 
heaven,  where  the  purity  of  great  purposes,  the 
brightness  of  enlightening  understanding  and  the 
warmth  of  love-filled  hearts  constitute  the  great 
powers  of  sanctified  souls. 

Here  the  affinity  to  God  is  realized,  the  affilia- 
tion with  God  attained  and  the  imitation  of  God 
accomplished.  Here  the  Divine  purpose  of  our  life 
is  fulfilled. 


THE  GREAT  DESTINY  OF  THE  SOUL 

The  holy  reason  and  divine  purpose  of  the  soul's 
life  carries  the  soul's  great  destiny  within  itself,  be- 
cause this  reason  is  the  first  cause,  and  destiny  the 
ultimate  aim  of  life. 

The  creation,  as  God's  sacrificial  act,  implies  His 
Divine  fatherhood  and  the  inward  structure  of  the 


THE  SOUL  47 


soul,  which  is  the  relative  image  of  God,  implies  our 
divine  childship.  This  is  the  clearly  logical,  su- 
premely rational  and  most  profoundly  sentimental 
relation  of  the  soul  to  God. 

Everything  we  have  comes  from  God.  Our  wills, 
our  minds,  our  hearts,  our  bodies  and  all  conditions 
of  life  come  from  Him,  except  our  willful  sins  with 
their  consequent  dishonor,  falsehood  and  misery. 

This  is  why  we  are  conscious  that  everything 
worthy,  true  and  lovable  is  divine,  according  to  the 
holy  Will  of  God,  and  that  everything  unworthy, 
false  and  hateful  is  undivine,  against  the  holy  Will 
of  God.  Each  man,  regardless  of  culture,  is  con- 
scious of  this  plain  fact,  save  only  the  one  who  is 
morally  demented. 

Divine  fatherhood  and  divine  childship  constitute 
the  real  focus  of  religion,  through  which  God  im- 
parts the  gift,  the  rule  and  the  immortal  joy  of  life. 

In  this  holy  gift  dwells  immortal  glory,  the 
magnificent  brightness  of  truth  and  the  neverceasing 
ardor  and  beatitude  of  sacrificial  love  and  mutuality. 

The  soul  must  be  glorious,  because  by  the  act  of 
divine  creation  it  participates  in  Divinity. 

The  soul  must  be  true,  because  it  is  called  to 
cooperate  with  God. 

The  soul  must  live  on  sacrifice,  because,  being  an 
issue  of  divine  sacrifice,  it  must  prove  its  glorious  life 


48 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

through  rendering  sacrifice  for  sacrifice,  the  supreme 
affirmation  of  the  holiest  life  of  God  and  of  our 
holy  life  in  Him. 

Are  our  little  souls  capable  of  such  a  great  aim  of 
life? 

They  are,  most  decidedly.  We  have  a  will  for 
worthy  actions,  the  mind  for  truth  and  a  heart  for 
pure  love,  and  we  know  that  any  other  purpose 
brings  dishonor  and  debasement,  and  inflicts  punish- 
ment and  causes  misery. 

It  is  true  that  our  human  souls  are  very  little 
souls,  with  only  an  incipient  consciousness  and  senti- 
ment of  conscience  and  of  our  spiritual  aim.  But  it 
is  equally  true  that,  unless  we  are  awakened  to 
the  understanding  of  the  great  cause  and  destiny 
of  our  spiritual  life,  we  shall  be  unable  to  strive  for  it. 

We  are  fallen  souls,  far  removed  from  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  God.  We  have  fallen  of  our 
own  will  from  the  heavenly  heights  of  eternity,  the 
cradle  of  our  holy  origin,  to  incalculably  distant 
spheres  where  severe  providential  conditions  urge 
us  to  seek  for  God,  to  regain  the  lost  inspiration, 
vision  and  love  of  our  holiest  Father  and  to  retrace 
our  steps  to  Him. 

The  soul  that  disdains  the  holiness,  truth  and  love 
of  God  cannot  live  in  His  proximity.  With  each  in- 


THE  SOUL  49 


creasing  distance  from  God  the  soul  becomes  weaker 
in  worthy  actions,  more  confused  in  its  understand- 
ing and  more  deficient  in  pure  and  sublime  senti- 
ments. 

HOTV  do  Tve  £non>  thai  u>e  are  fallen  souls? 

From  the  fact  of  our  sinful  state,  and  from  the 
particular  sinful  predisposition  of  our  sentiments. 

Predispositions,  as  proved  by  psychological  facts, 
are  acquired  through  particular  habits  of  the  will. 
Each  soul,  arriving  in  this  or  any  other  sphere  of 
existence,  has  very  distinct  predispositions  and  in- 
clinations which  could  not  be  manifested  unless 
acquired  in  former  phases  of  life. 

Predispositions  are  the  inward  sentimental  life  of 
the  soul,  and  sentimental  life  is  an  acquisition  which 
is  invariably  the  result  of  the  soul's  endeavor. 

Any  one  who  desires  to  know  his  past  life  need 
only  look  at  the  demand  of  conscience,  and  then 
at  his  own  relation  to  and  correspondence  with  the 
Voice  of  God,  and  soon  he  will  see  the  main  condi- 
tions of  his  essential  history. 

Why  does  the  soul  feel  the  lack  of  dignity,  power 
and  beatitude,  if  it  has  not  lost  it?  Why  is  it  con- 
scious of  its  mental  inability  to  understand  the  so- 
called  "great  mystery"  of  the  whole  creation,  if  it 
never  had  any  consciousness  of  it?  And  why  is  the 


50  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


soul  so  conscious  of  the  smallness  and  perversity  of 
the  human  heart,  if  it  has  not  forsaken  the  might  and 
joy  of  holy  love? 

Why  do  tve  not  remember  our  past  lives? 

For  the  simple  reason  that  memory  is  neither  the 
cause  nor  the  rule  and  aim  of  our  existence.  The 
real  cause,  however,  we  remember  always. 

Other  facts  are  not  worth  remembering.  The 
sooner  all  evils  are  forgotten  the  better  is  our  in- 
ward state.  We  are  not  even  conscious  of  the  time 
and  place  of  our  arrival  on  this  earth  and  the  same 
ignorance  may  extend  to  the  beginning  of  many  lives 
in  the  hereafter.  Is  this  evidence  that  we  do  not 
exist? 

Assuming  the  possibility  of  remembering  all  of 
our  innumerable  past  lives,  covering  millions  on 
millions  of  years,  of  what  avail  would  this  memory 
be  to  us?  We  should  see  the  indescribable  grandeurs 
of  our  past  lives  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  gradual 
fall  to  our  present  low  state  or  beneath  it.  In  our 
present  debasement  such  recollections  would  fill  our 
small  souls  with  inexpressible  despondency  and  lead 
many  to  inevitable  despair. 

The  traditional  teaching  that  of  ourselves  we  are 
nothing,  or  sheer  wickedness  worthy  of  eternal 
damnation,  is  only  an  exaggerated  sentiment  derived 


THE  SOUL  51 


from  the  subconsciousness  of  our  fall,  even  without 
remembering  historical  details. 

How  would  a  serious  man  feel,  were  he  conscious, 
through  memory,  that  once  he  had  been  a  great, 
powerful  and  beautiful  spirit  and,  through  disregard 
of  his  imparted  dignity,  had  gradually  lost  the  great 
powers  of  worthy  volition,  of  high  mentality  and 
sublime  sentiments,  and  through  consecutive  falls 
had  descended  to  the  level  of  an  ape  or  a  poison- 
ous reptile? 

Animals  are  souls.  They  have  self-conscious  and 
self-sentient  volition  like  our  own  and  all  souls  above 
us.  But  their  evil  determinations  have  filled  them 
with  criminal  and  frivolous  predispositions,  and  thus 
they  are  formed  according  to  their  inward  state. 

Terrible  is  the  justice  of  God  for  those  who  will 
to  become  and  remain  wicked.  Yet,  even  in  this 
dreadful  state,  God  extends  His  mercy  through  the 
little  joys  they  are  allowed  to  have  and  through  the 
opportunity  to  enter  through  the  ever  open  gate  to 
higher  spheres. 

We  shall  have  the  full  recollection  of  our  past 
lives  the  moment  we  reach  the  state  of  the  utmost 
love  of  our  destiny.  Then  we  shall  be  happy  to 
forget  our  falls,  as  we  now  vainly  strive  to  forget 
our  trespasses,  even  during  our  short  sojourn  on  this 
little  earth. 


52  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Partial  recollections  of  past  lives  may  be  possible 
in  the  intermediate  state  of  the  soul's  ascent  to  or 
its  recession  from  God,  but  they  are  ony  partial 
recollections,  without  any  direct  value  relatively  to 
our  inward  state. 

THE  FULFILLMENT  OF  OUR  HOLY  DESTINY 

The  fulfillment  of  our  destiny  consists  in  the  em- 
ployment of  all  our  spiritual  forces  and  natural  con- 
ditions for  the  participation  in  Divine  life,  in  order 
to  attain  immortal  glory,  holy  light  and  eternal 
beatitude. 

The  more  or  less  conscious  feeling  of  this  great 
destiny  moves  our  inwardness,  and  the  whole  dis- 
content of  our  life  results  from  our  failure  to  heed 
and  follow  this  holy  path. 

We  receive  our  wills  for  the  performing  of  glori- 
ous deeds,  we  receive  our  minds  for  the  understand- 
ing of  absolute  truth,  and  we  receive  our  hearts  for 
the  attainment  of  the  purest  and  noblest  sentiments. 

Anything  contrary  to  this  holy  purpose  of  our 
spiritual  forces  is  wicked,  because  false  and  base. 

For  this  reason,  the  fulfillment  of  our  holy  destiny 
is  imperative.  We  have  no  real  freedom,  except  in 
God  and  for  things  divine.  All  unholy  deeds  are 
an  abuse  of  sacred  freedom  and  a  negation  of  the 
holy  cause  and  aim  of  life. 


THE  SOUL  53 


No  soul  can  shirk  the  eternal  call  of  divine  destiny 
without  the  inexorable  consequences  of  the  debase- 
ment of  character  and  bitter  strife  in  daily  life. 

Our  whole  life  consists  of  plans  for  the  future. 
All  our  decisions,  all  our  thinking  and  sentiments 
are  clearly  made  for  the  future. 

Every  conscientious  man  performs  his  duties  with 
a  view  to  his  future.  The  performance  of  each  duty, 
as  we  all  know,  is  a  stepping  stone  to  worthy  life 
and  a  greater  future,  and  yet  we  remain  dull  to 
the  issue  of  our  great  destiny. 

There  is  no  sense  to  duty  unless  the  duty  of  life 
as  a  holy  life  is  the  ground  of  all  daily  duties  and 
the  duties  of  all  ages. 

The  fulfillment  of  our  holy  destiny  is  the  com- 
mandment of  life  itself  and  the  power  through  which 
all  our  duties  are  performed. 

Thus,  according  to  the  plans  of  Divine  creation,  we 
must  know  the  plan  of  our  own  life  in  order  to  be 
the  true  children  of  God. 

We  know  of  God  through  His  holiest  attributes. 
We  know  that  conscience  is  the  superspiritual  reflex 
of  His  holiest  attributes.  Consequently,  conscience 
is  as  formal  and  commanding  as  the  Divine  attributes 
are  harmonious  and  majestic. 

We  must  see  this  holy  conscience  in  its  super- 
spiritual  form,  and  the  corresponding  structure  of  our 


54 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

spiritual  soul  with  this  form,  in  order  to  realize  the 
necessity  of  virtues,  as  the  sole  worthy  power  and 
rule  of  religious  life. 

All  complaints  pertaining  to  the  inefficiency  of 
religious  teachings  arise  from  the  fact  that  conscience 
and  virtues  are  not  taught  as  the  real  basis  of  re- 
ligion. And  where  conscience  and  virtues  are  not 
the  first  issue  in  religion,  a  living  faith  in  God  and 
love  of  mankind  are  impossible. 


VIRTUES  THE  ETERNAL  VOICE  OF 

GOD  IN  CONSCIENCE  AND  THE 

SUBSTANCE  OF  RELIGION 

Holiness,  truth  and  love  constitute  the  eternal 
life  and  dominion  of  God  and,  consequently,  the 
eternal  order  of  the  whole  creation.  The  eternal 
plan  of  creation  is  the  Divine  life  itself. 

Will,  intellect  and  sentiment  constitute  the  im- 
mortal life  of  the  soul  and,  in  consequence  of  its 
dependence  from  the  absolutely  dominating  life  of 
God,  these  spiritual  forces  adhere  to  the  plan  of 
Divine  life  with  overwhelming  evidence. 

Our  will  is  created  for  holiness,  our  intellect  is 
created  for  truth,  and  our  sentiment  is  created  for 
love  divine. 

Any  other  interpretation  of  the  aim  and  purpose 
of  our  spiritual  forces  and  plan  of  life  is  false  and 
wicked  and  thus  it  universally  proves  itself  in  actual 
practice. 

A  will  without  submission  to  holiness  would  be  a 
purely  destructive  force,  an  incarnate  evil.  An  in- 
tellect without  truth  would  be  unimaginable  insanity. 
And  a  heart  without  a  trace  of  pure  love  the  most 
execrable  thing  in  creation. 

55 


56  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL  

Each  moment  of  our  life  is  in  continuous  con- 
tact with  the  commanding  mights  of  Divine  holiness, 
truth  and  love  in  conscience.  But  we  must  see  this 
holy  contact  formally  in  order  to  understand  the 
grandeur  and  might  of  religion. 

God  is  Holiness,  Truth  and  Love. 

This  is  the  supreme  superspiritual  name  of  God,  by 
virtue  of  which  the  whole  creation  is  called  into 
being  and  by  virtue  of  which  it  is  ruled  and  led  to 
its  eternal  destiny. 

In  human  words,  holiness  is  the  one,  perfect  and 
eternal  will  of  God.  Truth  is  the  Divine  mind  with 
its  eternal  contemplation,  omniscience  and  omni- 
presence. And  Love  is  the  Divine  heart  revealing 
eternal  sacrifice,  justice  and  goodness. 

This  is  the  holiest  form  of  the  Divine  Superper- 
sonality,  whose  reflex  constitutes  the  superspiritual 
form  of  conscience. 

Only  in  conscience  can  we  find,  see  and  feel  God 
and  His  holy  mights ;  and  the  fact  that  conscience  is 
so  little  heeded,  studied  and  scrutinized,  and  so 
little  loved,  accounts  for  the  lack  of  religion  in 
humanity,  for  the  wretchedness  of  the  human  char- 
acter and  for  the  low  standards  of  honor,  truthful- 
ness and  mutual  affection. 

The  most  sacred  thing  that  God  has  given  us 
is  not  worshipped,  not  esteemed  and  not  loved  with 


SUBSTANCE  OF  RELIGION  57 

the  fullness  of  our  hearts.  Consequently,  man  is 
bound  to  love  unsacred  things  with  consequent  strife 
and  abominations. 

In  terms  of  Divine  mights  and  with  respect  to  His 
Holiness,  God  is,  first,  the  holiest  Oneness,  the  center 
and  ground  of  supreme  majesty.  Second,  God  is 
holy  Perfection,  the  absolute  source  .of  His  al- 
mightiness.  Third,  God  is  holy  Eternity,  which  is 
the  holy  state,  of  His  Divine  life. 

With  respect  to  His  holiest  Truth,  God  is,  first, 
the  eternal  Contemplation  of  His  Holiness,  by  virtue 
of  which  eternally  issues  the  Divine  revelation  and 
the  plan  of  His  Divine  creation.  Second,  God  is 
holy  Omniscience,  by  virtue  of  which  everything 
that  is  made  by  Him  is  predestined  according  to  His 
holy  plan  to  participate  in  His  Divine  life.  Third, 
God  is  holy  Omnipresence,  wherefrom  issues  His 
providential  might. 

With  respect  to  His  holiest  Love,  God  is,  first, 
the  supreme  Sacrifice,  through  which  He  imparts 
life  to  souls  for  the  purpose  of  participating  in  His 
life  Divine,  and  guides  their  lives  accordingly.  Sec- 
ond, God  is  supreme  Justice,  by  virtue  of  which  the 
holy  gifts  of  life  are  guarded  and  providential  condi- 
tions of  life  allotted  to  each  soul  according  to  its 
nearness  to  or  distance  from  Him.  Third,  God  is 
supreme  Goodness,  the  last  expression  of  His  Di- 


58 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

vinity,  by  virtue  of  which  all  forces  of  spiritual  life 
are  attracted,  blessed  and  saved  from  destruction. 

Thus  in  the  holiest  love  of  God  we  see  the  three 
most  tangible  manifestations  of  God,  relatively  to 
our  own  life,  with  expressions  and  names  universally 
invoked  by  the  positive  spirit  of  all  religious  traditions 
and  aspirations,  namely,  God  as  our  holy  Father, 
Lord  and  Saviour. 

The  name  of  "Fatherhood"  means  sacrifice,  the 
might  of  giving  and  solicitude.  The  name  "Lord" 
conveys  justice,  the  sole  means  of  dominion  and 
authority.  And  the  name  "Saviour"  means  the  beati- 
fying might  of  goodness,  which  imparts  itself  to  the 
worthy  and  unworthy  with  equal  readiness,  how- 
ever varied  be  its  might  of  distribution.  Goodness 
follows  justice  as  justice  follows  love,  the  sacrificial 
focus  and  momentum  of  holy  life. 

From  these  Divine  attributes  flows  the  formal 
superspiritual  reflex  of  the  mights  and  life  of  God. 

This  living  reflex  of  Divinity  we  call  conscience, 
as  it  is  in  itself,  which  constitutes  the  superspiritual 
ground  of  our  spiritual  soul. 

The  soul  is  not  only  urged,  guided  and  blessed  by 
the  superspiritual  might  of  conscience,  but  the  very 
soul's  forces  are  so  formed  as  to  correspond  with 
conscience. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL 59 

WHAT  FORMS  CONSTITUTE  THE  REFLEX  OF 

DIVINE  ATTRIBUTES  PERTAINING  TO 

THE  WILL  OF  GOD? 

The  attributes  pertaining  to  the  Will  of  God  are 
Holiness,  Perfection  and  Eternity.  Consequently 
their  superspiritual  reflexes  in  conscience  are  the 
virtues  of  humility,  fortitude  and  beatitude. 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  HUMILITY 
Why  is  humility  the  commanding  voice  of  holiness? 

Because  holiness,  being  the  most  adorable  ma- 
jesty of  God,  demands  unreserved  submission  to 
the  most  adorable  and  majestic  Will  of  God  in 
order  that  the  soul  may  participate  in  Divine  Life. 

A  relative  being,  as  the  soul  is,  must,  by  virtue  of 
this  fact,  follow  the  absolute  Life  of  God  through 
free  submission  to  this  holiest  life  in  order  to  sus- 
tain the  dignity,  the  truth  and  the  joy  of  its  own 
life. 

Humility  is  the  supreme  demand  of  conscience 
and  the  basic  state  of  the  soul's  worthiness,  the  state 
of  participating  in  the  life  of  God.  Consequently, 
humility  constitutes  the  highest  attainable  reality 
and  the  fundamental  virtue  of  the  soul's  will. 

In  humility  the  soul  finds  God  as  the  eternal  Be- 
stower  of  its  life  and  of  its  dignity,  which  is  the 
dignity  of  divine  childship,  the  true  honor  of  life. 


60 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

What  are  the  main  forms  of  the  virtue  of  humility? 

The  main  forms  of  humility  are  faith  in  and  de- 
votion and  gratitude  to  God. 

Faith  is  the  affirmation  of  our  affinity  to  God, 
devotion  the  offering  of  our  allegiance  to  God,  and 
gratitude  the  blissful  state  of  the  fulfilled  imitation 
of  Divine  life. 

This  fundamental  virtue,  in  its  three  forms,  is  so 
palpable  in  our  whole  life  that,  if  only  one  of  these 
forms  is  neglected,  disharmony,  confusion  and  bit- 
terness envelop  the  soul.  We  cannot  move  one 
step  without  faith  in  worthiness,  we  are  discontented 
and  bitter  without  the  worthy  object  of  devotion, 
and  we  feel  lost  without  the  sentiment  of  gratitude 
for  worthy  gifts. 

We  must  have  faith  in  the  holiest  object  of  life 
in  order  to  have  an  absolute  ground  and  reason  for 
worthy  action. 

Whom  shall  we  trust,  if  we  have  no  trust  in 
God,  the  absolute  source  and  prototype  of  worthy 
trust? 

To  whom  shall  we  be  devoted,  if  not  to  Holi- 
ness, Truth  and  Love  of  God,  the  superessential 
trinity  of  His  Life  and  the  essential  trinity  of  all 
worthy  deeds,  lofty  thoughts  and  worthy  long- 
ings and  desires? 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL  61 


To  whom  are  we  bound  with  such  profound 
gratitude  if  not  to  God,  the  eternal  Bestower  of 
immortal  gifts  of  life? 

Is  participation  in  God  not  worthy  of  supreme 
faith  in  God? 

Is  cooperation  with  God  not  worthy  of  supreme 
devotion  to  God? 

And  is  the  affirmation  of  God  in  our  inwardness 
and  of  our  life  in  God  not  worthy  of  profoundest 
and  most  vivid  gratitude? 

It  is  precisely  the  littleness  of  our  faith  in  God, 
the  littleness  of  our  devotion  to  God  and  the  little- 
ness of  our  gratitude  to  God  that  make  our  souls  so 
miserably  little,  with  no  power  for  great  deeds  and 
no  sense  for  the  sublimity  of  truth  and  sacrificial 
sentiments. 

Without  humility  there  is  no  bond  with  God,  and, 
consequently,  no  true  religion  of  the  soul. 

Humility  is  the  sacrament  above  all  sacraments, 
the  most  solemn  act  of  the  soul  directly  sacrated  by 
God. 

The  negation  of  humility  is  pride,  our  greatest 
and  most  insidious  enemy.  Pride  is  the  soul's  ten- 
dency to  make  itself  independent  of  God. 

Through  pride  the  soul  becomes  egocentric  and  is 
filled  with  vain  and  ruthless  ambitions,  with  per- 
verted mentality  and  with  sentiments  of  contempt, 


62  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


envy,  hatred,  greed  and  lust,  the  sources  of  all  base- 
ness, crimes  and  disasters. 

Once  it  becomes  detached  from  its  holy  source, 
there  is  no  limit  to  the  soul's  fall.  There  are  no  holy 
courses  without  the  holy  principle  of  Divinity,  and 
each  man  with  clear  reason  is  fully  conscious  of 
this  patent  fact. 

Humility  and  pride  are  the  basic  alternatives  of 
our  will,  and  all  its  tendencies  are  directed  accord- 
ing to  its  free  choice.  Either  the  soul  lives  a  life  of 
divine  childship,  a  life  of  conscience,  honor,  sublime 
mentality  and  intensely  benevolent  sentiments  or  a 
life  outside  of  divine  childship,  without  conscience 
or  honor,  and  characterized  by  cunning  mentality 
and  animal  desires. 

Humility,  owing  to  its  power  to  partake  in  the  life 
of  God,  is  the  highest  expression  of  the  soul's  spir- 
itual honor;  and,  likewise  pride,  owing  to  its  un- 
willingness to  partake  in  the  life  of  God,  is  the  clear 
proof  of  the  soul's  spiritual  dishonor.  In  vain  cries 
the  fool,  "there  is  no  God,"  for  the  God-given  sense 
of  honor  clearly  contradicts  his  voice. 

Honor  is  a  superspiritual  might,  caused  by  God, 
which  commands  and  sustains  the  esteem  of  worthy 
deeds,  thoughts  and  sentiments.  Pride  on  the  other 
hand,  is  a  false  imitation  of  honor,  an  assumption 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL          63 

and  a  perversion  of  this  divine  sense,  for  the  purpose 
of  personal  aggrandisement  and  profit. 

The  honorable  soulis  filled  with  worthiness.  Its 
deeds  are  pure,  unselfish  and  benevolent ;  its  thoughts 
are  lofty  and  truthful,  and  its  heart  is  full  of  mag- 
nanimity and  kindness. 

In  other  words,  the  honorable  soul  is  strictly  re- 
ligious. It  carries  the  holy  reflex  of  Divinity  in  its 
inwardness  and  never  departs  from  this  sublime 
standpoint. 

The  dishonorable  soul,  on  the  other  hand,  betrays 
itself  through  unholy  motives,  moral  and  material 
selfishness  and  lack  of  good  will,  through  a  low  and 
cunning  mind  and  through  the  absence  of  sublimer 
sentiments.  It  betrays  itself  through  hatred,  con- 
tempt, envy,  greed,  bitterness  and  lust,  and  never  at- 
tempts to  lift  itself  to  holy  determinations  and  visions. 
Its  life  is  intrinsically  irreligious  and  undivine. 

In  a  practical  sense  everybody  knows  the  differ- 
ence between  these  two  characters. 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  FORTITUDE 

Fortitude  is  the  course  of  humility,  the  evolution 
of  profound  faith,  devotion  and  gratitude. 

Souls  are  the  greatest  beings  in  God's  creation, 
and  their  aim  is  spiritual  greatness. 

Greatness  demands  fortitude;  therefore  participa- 


64 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

tion  in  Divine  life,  cooperation  with  Divine  life  and 
affirmation  of  Divine  life  demand  the  greatest  forti- 
tude. Nothing  great  is  achieved  without  fortitude. 

What  are  the  essential  forms  of  fortitude? 

The  essential  forms  of  fortitude  are  energy  for 
sanctification,  perserverance  and  triumph  over  the 
evil. 

Psychologically,  fortitude  is  energy  of  will.  But 
energy  of  will  must  have  the  worthiest  object  for  its 
purpose.  Since  the  worthiest  object  can  be  nothing 
else  than  sanctification,  which  means  the  life  in  God, 
fortitude  is  primarily  the  energy  for  sanctification. 
Nothing  less  is  compatible  with  the  true  power  of  the 
soul's  will. 

Fortitude  is  a  distinct  Divine  commandment.  God 
demands  that  His  heavenly  offspring  be  full  of  holy 
power,  because  His  holiness  is  the  supreme  and 
sublimest  might. 

God  imparts  freedom  of  will  for  the  highest  and 
best,  and  each  man  is  conscious  in  his  inwardness 
that  he  must  not  abuse  freedom  for  the  sake  of  low 
and  wicked  aims. 

Abuse  of  freedom  causes  violence  to  holy  aims, 
truthful  thinking  and  lofty  sentiments,  and,  there- 
fore, incurs  punishment. 

Fortitude  demands  perseverance   in  virtue.    An 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL 65 

occasional  effort  for  the  good  is  the  result  of  holy 
inspiration,  but  the  virtue  of  fortitude  is  habitual. 

Virtue  itself  is  a  holy  habit.  Hence  the  effort  for 
sanctification  must  be  sustained  by  the  habitual  ap- 
plication of  our  will  power  to  persevere  in  fortitude. 

Perseverance  is  the  logical  course  in  fortitude, 
the  unwearied  carrier  of  the  motive  of  holy  life. 
"Until  the  end"  is  its  urgent  call,  for  the  holy  end 
is  worthy  of  all  efforts. 

The  result  of  fortitude  is  the  triumph  over  evil, 
the  emancipation  from  passions  and  sins.  Not  until 
the  soul  is  free  from  the  fetters  of  ungodly  passions 
can  it  obtain  the  full  power  and  experience  of  holy 
life. 

In  the  triumph  over  evil,  the  soul  begins  to  feel 
its  great  freedom.  Its  scope  of  activity  knows  no 
limitations  for  the  accomplishments^  of  glorious  deeds. 

Fortitude  is  the  school  of  will  power  and  he  who 
does  not  want  to  enter  this  school  of  life  has  no  right 
to  complain  of  the  misery  he  suffers. 

The  contradiction  of  the  virtue  of  fortitude  is 
weakness  of  character,  vacillation  in  worthy  purposes 
and  inability  to  conquer  the  evil  in  oneself. 

Having  no  living  faith  in  God,  no  inward  devo- 
tion to  His  holiness,  truth  and  love,  and  no  gratitude 
for  our  holy  origin  and  aim  of  life,  the  soul  must 
necessarily  be  weak  in  its  most  important  purpose, 


66  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


in  its  understanding  of  the  superspiritual  reality  of 
life  and  in  the  impulses  of  its  noblest  sentiments. 
There  is  nothing  to  urge  the  full  power  of  the  soul's 
will,  nothing  to  lift  its  intellect  and  nothing  to  in- 
spire its  heart  to  sacrificial  deeds,  all  of  which  are  the 
true  tests  of  the  soul's  inward  honor. 

Humanity  denounces  unsacrificial  acts  as  selfish, 
because  such  acts  are  contrary  to  conscience,  the 
Voice  of  God.  It  is  distressing  to  observe  how  the 
passions  of  pride,  vanity  and  sensuality  overmaster 
so  many  even  among  the  leaders  of  human  destiny. 

It  seems  as  if  there  were  no  sense  of  virtue,  no 
religion,  and  no  sacred  honor  in  these  souls.  Con- 
science and  honor  are  sacrificed  to  vain  ambitions, 
usually  under  the  pretense  of  national,  economical 
and  social  exigencies.  To  these  ends  their  whole 
energy  is  devoted,  while  the  most  urgent  and  the  sim- 
plest purpose  to  which  all  energy  ought  to  be  de- 
voted, the  education  and  elevation  of  the  human 
conscience,  is  not  even  attempted.  Why?  Because 
there  is  no  fortitude  in  humanity.  There  is  no  church 
and  no  educational  institution  which  clearly  explains 
virtues  as  the  living  Voice  of  God  and  as  the  ab- 
solute condition  of  human  dignity  and  happiness. 

So  long  as  fortitude  is  not  urged  by  all  leading 
men,  humanity  will  continue  to  stumble  and  fall,  as 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL 67 

it  always  has,  and  dearly  pay  for  its  unvirtuous  crav- 
ings. 

Where  there  is  no  energy  of  faith  in  God  and  no 
strong  devotion  and  gratitude  to  Him,  the  soul  can- 
not do  other  than  vacillate  in  its  purposes  and  in  its 
mental  and  sentimental  endeavors.  Then  everything 
is  uncertain.  The  fatalistic  mood  seizes  the  soul, 
with  its  doubting  spirit,  by  pointing  out  distressing 
facts  without  explaining  the  true  reason  or  indicat- 
ing the  true  remedy. 

Fatalism  is  the  most  insidious  opiate  of  con- 
science. It  deprives  the  soul  of  the  inspiration  which 
the  living  faith  in  God  and  our  holy  destiny  imparts. 
It  destroys  our  best  energy  and  makes  us  unfit  for 
great  and  holy  achievements.  Where  fatalism  ex- 
ercises the  dominating  influence,  there  can  be  no  up- 
lifting progress  in  our  spiritual  state,  no  high  vision 
amidst  the  perplexities  of  life  and  no  sense  of  that 
beautiful  joy  which  is  the  inward  possession  of  the 
true  child  of  God. 

As  a  result,  the  soul  bows  its  spirit  to  the  earth, 
and  wastes  its  little  energy  in  petty  selfishness,  with 
its  momentary  delights  and  lasting  disillusions  and 
griefs. 

Only  the  one  whose  death  is  the  happiest  moment 
in  his  life  gives  real  proof  of  fortitude;  for,  having 
achieved  a  worthy  life,  he,  by  implicit  faith  in 


68  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


Divine  justice  has   prepared  himself   for   a  much 
higher  and  more  beautiful  life  beyond. 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  BEATITUDE 

Beatitude  is  the  virtue  which  follows  humility  and 
fortitude  as  their  inevitable  result. 

Humility,  by  virtue  of  its  faith  in  and  devotion 
and  gratitude  to  God,  is  the  first  determination  to 
live  in  the  grandeur  of  the  childship  of  God.  Forti- 
tude is  the  necessary  course  of  humility,  the  sublimity 
of  which  demands  the  application  of  all  spiritual 
energy. 

From  these  two  premises  of  worthy  life,  follows 
the  inevitable  result  of  the  worthy  state  of  life  which 
is  beatitude. 

What  are  the  essential  forms  of  beatitude? 

The  essential  forms  of  beatitude  are  security, 
peace  and  joy  in  God. 

Each  of  these  universal  facts  is  most  palpable  in 
each  soul.  In  all  conditions,  each  living  creature 
longs  and  searches  for  security,  peace  and  joy.  They 
are  the  effectual  aim  and  end  of  all  life,  for  beati- 
tude is  the  eternal  result  of  sanctified  determinations. 

Humility  constitutes  the  ground  and  source  of 
absolute  security  and  he  who  is  not  willing  to  de- 
pend on  God  must  depend  on  his  own  limited  re- 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL 69 

sources  with  their  fatalistic  promises  and  disillusions. 

There  is  no  possibility  for  true  security  without 
the  whole-souled  participation  in  Divine  life,  for 
participation  in  the  absolute  life  of  God  is  the  ab- 
solute security  of  all  life. 

Fortitude  is  the  course  of  attaining  divine  security, 
for  without  cooperation  with  the  Will  of  God  no 
path  of  life  is  secure. 

Thus  the  virtue  of  beatitude  causes  the  state  of 
absolute  security  and  the  highest  prospects  of  im- 
mortal life.  It  consists  in  the  affirmation  of  the  life 
of  God  in  us  and  of  our  life  in  God. 

The  second  form  of  beatitude  is  inward  peace, 
the  logical  consequence  of  security  in  God. 

The  might  of  God  is  so  peaceful  that  only  in 
the  soul's  profoundest  silence  can  it  be  clearly  seen 
and  felt. 

There  is  no  clamor  in  the  incessant  act  of  Divine 
creation,  though  countless  worlds  are  constantly 
made  and  unmade  by  His  might. 

Silently  speaks  the  Voice  of  God  to  us,  for  His 
holy  Voice  is  majestic  and  calm.  It  urges  peace- 
fully, it  leads  peacefully,  it  admonishes  and  remon- 
strates peacefully  and  its  holy  breath  imparts  beati- 
tude. Only  the  exited  passions  of  our  soul  are  loud 
and  noisy. 

Examining  carefully  those  who  bear  a  distinct 


70 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

evidence  of  divine  childship  we  notice  calm  self- 
respect  and  respect  for  every  other  soul.  We  hear 
words  of  deep  wisdom.  We  feel  security  in  their 
sincerity,  peace  in  their  truthfulness  and  joy  in  their 
beautiful  modesty.  We  see  their  spirit  of  ready 
service,  of  righteousness  and  unaffected  kindness 
toward  man  and  all  other  creatures.  In  these  rare 
souls  is  a  distinct  reflex  of  the  indwelling  peace  of 
God,  deriving  from  the  dependence  on  Him. 

Another  aspect  presents  itself  when  we  are  con- 
fronted with  those  who  have  no  distinct  marks  of 
divine  childship.  Here  we  observe  restless  haste, 
worry  and  striving  for  material  gain,  for  mundane 
satisfaction  and  for  personal  vanities.  There  is  little 
or  no  spirit  of  amity  and  true  friendship,  little  good 
will  toward  man,  a  thoughtless  disregard  for  every- 
thing holy,  a  spirit  of  secrecy,  opportune  specious- 
ness  and  heartlessness.  Indeed,  strange  and  in- 
comprehensible is  the  peace  of  God  to  worldly  souls. 

The  last  form  of  beatitude  is  joy  in  God.  This 
joy  arises  from  the  inward  consciousness  and  senti- 
ency  of  our  divine  childship,  the  ground  of  the  ever- 
lasting joy  of  life.  Nothing  can  approach  the  joy  of 
participating  in  Divine  holiness.  Nothing  can  com- 
pare with  the  joy  of  cooperating  with  Divine  truth. 
And  nothing  can  equal  the  holy  joy  of  imitating 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  WILL  71 


Divine  love.  It  is  for  the  sake  of  this  glorious 
heavenly  joy  that  God  created  our  souls. 

Our  origin  is  heaven,  the  place  of  our  immortal 
birth.  Only  the  twisted  mentality  of  man,  instigated 
by  perverse  sentiments,  imagines  any  other  origin. 

If  there  is  any  value,  importance  or  greatness  in 
our  life,  it  must  be  the  greatest  possible  greatness  in 
existence.  This  greatness,  however,  cannot  be  at- 
tained on  our  planet,  for  its  insignificance  among  the 
myriads  of  suns,  which  in  themselves  are  only  small 
specks  in  the  divine  universe,  plainly  indicates  the 
limitations  of  our  present  life. 

If  there  is  no  eternal  cause  in  our  life,  then  every- 
thing is  senseless,  then  all  achievements  of  great  men, 
all  the  great  thoughts  and  lofty  sentiments  of  human- 
ity are  a  passing  show  for  the  fool. 

It  is  the  glory,  the  might  and  the  joy  of  religious 
life,  a  fact  so  fearfully  neglected  by  all  traditional 
creeds,  which  must  be  made  clear  to  mankind  in 
order  to  save  it  from  the  debasing  tendencies  of  the 
prevalent  fatalism. 

Humility  is  the  power  of  faith,  devotion  and 
gratitude  to  God  and  man,  in  which  consists  the 
intrinsic  power  of  honor.  If  a  man  does  not  want 
humility,  let  him  frankly  state  this  simple  fact  and 
then  hide  his  face  before  every  man  who  has  not  lost 


72 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

his  conscience.  If  he  is  devoid  of  humility  no  one 
can  trust  him  and  no  soul  can  be  devoted  and  grate- 
ful to  him,  for  he  rejects  the  divine  power  and  law 
of  binding  esteem,  responsibility  and  reciprocity. 

Fortitude  is  essentially  the  will  to  holy  power, 
the  will  to  attain  the  living  sonship  of  God,  in  order 
to  participate  in  His  holiest  Divinity,  in  the  majesty 
of  God's  holiest  perfection  and  in  His  eternal  sacri- 
fice and  creational  activity.  Fortitude  imparts  pro- 
fundity, elevation  and  almost  unlimited  opportunities 
for  greater  life.  It  imparts  superhuman  intelligence 
and  sentiments  which  love  to  adore  the  "Highest 
and  Best,"  to  see  the  fullness  of  Divine  truth,  and 
to  embrace  the  sacrificial  beauty  of  God. 

Thus  beatitude  is  the  most  effective  and  palpable 
part  of  the  soul's  life,  and  the  soul's  life  is  a  part  of 
divine  beatitude,  which  is  born  in  Divine  eternity  for 
the  sake  of  our  immortal  life  with  God. 

WHAT  FORMS  CONSTITUTE  THE  REFLEX  OF 

DlVINE  ATTRIBUTES  PERTAINING  TO 

THE  TRUTH  OF  GODP 

The  attributes  pertaining  to  the  Truth  of  God  are 
Divine  contemplation,  omniscience  and  omnipresence. 
Consequently,  their  superspiritual  reflexes  in  con- 
science are  the  virtues  of  divine  light,  wisdom  and 
simplicity. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND 73 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  DIVINE  LIGHT 

What  do   rve  understand  by  the  virtue  of  divine 
light? 

By  this  virtue  we  understand  the  will,  in  the  ap- 
plication of  all  its  mental  faculties,  to  absolute  truth, 

Absolute  truth  is  a  Divine  attribute  and  might. 
We  do  not  make  truth,  nor  do  we  intrinsically  pos- 
sess truth,  but  we  have  the  power  to  search  for  truth 
and  to  participate  in  its  holy  might. 

Each  human  statement  is  either  true  or  false,  and 
we  are  fully  aware  of  the  consequences  of  all  such 
statements. 

It  is  not  due  to  our  personal  authority  that  a 
truthful  statement  is  accepted,  but  to  the  objective 
superspiritual  might  of  truth,  presented  by  reasoning, 
according  to  conscience. 

Reasoning  according  to  conscience  is  always  seri- 
ous, because  it  is  intrinsically  connected  with  the 
superspiritual  might  and  Voice  of  God.  He  who 
does  not  want  thus  to  reason,  is  a  trifler,  incapable 
of  serious  reasoning.  Reasoning  is  dependent  from 
the  soul's  will  to  attain  truth  by  means  of  its  in- 
tellectual faculties. 

The  profundity  and  elevation  as  well  as  the  shal- 
lowness  and  sophistry  of  personal  reasoning  depend 
wholly  on  the  attitude  which  the  soul  maintains 


74  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


toward  humility,  fortitude  and  beatitude  or  toward 
pride,  weakness  and  misery. 

Where  there  is  humility,  the  soul  eagerly  searches 
for  the  Absolute  Object  of  truth.  Where  there  is 
fortitude,  the  soul  perseveres  in  its  search  until  it 
finds  truth.  And  where  there  is  beatitude,  the  soul 
understands  the  exalting  importance  of  worthiness, 
truth  and  love,  and  sees  and  loves  conscience  as  the 
supreme  guide  of  our  life. 

In  the  contrary  instance,  if  there  is  no  humility, 
the  soul  in  its  pride  can  have  no  serious  desire  for 
absolute  truth.  It  wants  no  divine  light  or  conscience 
to  rule  its  mentality.  All  it  desires  is  the  imposition 
of  its  will  on  others.  And,  because  it  does  not  apply 
its  mind  to  divine  light,  which  is  the  ruling  might 
of  conscience  in  relation  to  the  mind,  the  soul  must 
remain  arbitrary  and  frequently  tyrannical  and  ruth- 
less. 

If  there  is  no  fortitude,  the  dictate  of  conscience 
for  truth  finds  no  hold  on  the  soul  and,  though 
this  dictation  appeals  to  the  soul,  man  is  not  ready 
or  willing  to  apply  it  to  his  judgments,  and,  there- 
fore, is  incapable  of  great  and  sublime  visions. 

Hence,  if  there  is  no  beatitude  in  its  heart,  the 
soul  is  incapable  of  trust,  devotion  and  gratitude  and 
advances  skeptical  and  pessimistic  theories  and  con- 
clusions, the  logical  consequence  of  confused  visions. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND  .    75 

If  there  is  no  divine  light,  spiritual  sunshine  is  im- 
possible and  a  dark  night,  not  infrequently  bordering 
on  despair,  envelops  the  self-centered  ego. 

Divine  light  is  the  heavenly  brightness  of  spiritual 
riches,  the  delight  of  the  virtuous  and  the  hope  and 
desire  of  the  destitute.  It  shines  from  the  heights  of 
heaven  into  the  profundity  of  our  inwardness.  It 
sheds  its  holy  brightness  on  the  performance  of  our 
duties,  on  serious  judgments  and  all  worthy  senti- 
ments, in  order  to  enhance  the  virtuous  sense  of 
responsibility  to  God  and  man.  Beyond  the  light  of 
God  is  ignorance  and  confusion  in  all  our  efforts, 
knowledge  and  aspirations. 

The  supreme  science  is  the  science  of  the  light  of 
God,  the  absolute  science  of  truth.  But  it  takes  a 
sincerely  truth  loving  character  inwardly  to  realize 
this  tremendous  fact. 

Divine  light,  like  all  gifts  of  God,  is  sacrificial 
and  he  who  wishes  to  attain  divine  light  must  first 
attain  sacrificial  sentiments,  sacrificial  motives  and  a 
sacrificial  heart.  Truth,  being  in  itself  holy,  cannot 
enter  an  unclean  spiritual  vessel  like  the  average 
soul.  Truth  shines  above  and  around  the  soul,  but 
it  will  not  make  its  habitation  in  the  soul  until  man 
wipes  out  all  selfish  passions  which,  of  his  free  will, 
he  has  selected  as  the  idols  of  his  love. 

Truth   is  the   eternal   voice    of     the  might    and 


76  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL      

splendor  of  holiness,  and  he  who  does  not  fully  real- 
ize this  holy  fact  knows  very  little  of  the  might  of 
truth  and  can  have  no"  due  adoration  and  esteem  for 
truth.  Hence  he  abuses  truth,  as  he  abuses  all  other 
gifts  of  God,  for  the  mere  vanity  and  lust  of  mun- 
dane life. 

Adoration  of  truth  is  the  first  commandment  for 
the  mind,  for  no  worthy  application  is  possible  with- 
out profound  adoration  and  love  of  the  light  of 
God. 

As  humility  is  the  first  superspiritual  law  for 
worthy  action,  thus  divine  light  is  the  first  super- 
spiritual  law  for  worthy  thinking.  Without  either 
no  worthy  cause  of  life  can  be  understood. 

Thus  it  is  obvious  that  the  soul  must  adhere  to 
divine  light  and  cleave  to  conscience  in  order  to 
understand  its  immortal  dignity  and  its  immortal 
rights  and  duties. 

The  failure  of  this  vision  is  the  cause  of  all  de- 
nominational and  intellectual  confusion  and  of  the 
unfortunate  and  depraving  conditions  in  which 
humanity  lives. 

• 
THE  VIRTUE  OF  WISDOM 

The  virtue  of  wisdom  consists  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  application  of  our  will,  mind  and  heart  to  con- 
science. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND  77 

HOTV  do  we  apply  our  will  to  conscience? 

We  apply  our  will  to  conscience  by  the  constant 
resolution  to  be  in  company  with  conscience  in  order 
to  have  its  continuous  inspiration  and  support. 

There  is  nothing  that  inspires  and  supports  our 
power  of  will  to  good  deeds  except  the  Voice  of 
God.  The  Voice  of  God  is  the  will  of  God  in  its 
application  to  each  soul,  in  order  to  strengthen  its 
faith  in  and  devotion  and  gratitude  to  God. 

Why  must  we  apply  our  will  to  conscience? 

We  must  apply  our  will  to  conscience  because 
the  Voice  of  God  is  the  absolutely  dominating,  lead- 
ing and  beatifying  might  of  our  life. 

It  is  the  sole  might  which  imparts  to  us  dignity, 
truth  and  love,  without  which  religious  life  can  be 
neither  attained  nor  known. 

How  do  we  apply  our  mind  to  conscience? 

We  apply  our  mind  to  conscience  by  constant  at- 
tention of  our  thoughts  to  the  Voice  of  God. 

In  all  our  undertakings,  we  have  an  active,  mental 
and  sentimental  problem  before  us.  The  solution  of 
each  problem  must  begin  with  conscience.  Mental 
deliberation  and  scrutiny  must  proceed  according  to 
conscience  and  the  aim  of  the  undertaking  must  be 


78 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

in  strict  harmony   with   conscience   in  order  to  be 
worthy,  true  and  good. 

If  this  rule  of  wisdom  is  not  applied,  errors  creep 
in,  in  spite  of  original  good  intentions,  and  the  result 
will  be  more  or  less  unworthy,  wrong  and  false. 
It  will  not  bring  the  great  result  of  honor  and  blessing 
which  the  implicit  faith  in  the  truth  of  God  demands. 

Why  must  Tve  apply  our  minds  to  conscience? 

We  must  apply  our  minds  to  conscience  because 
the  Voice  of  God  is  the  profoundest  and  highest 
enlightenment  of  our  life. 

Each  mental  problem  refers  to  reason  and  each 
reasoning  act  refers  to  conscience  as  the  highest 
tribunal  of  all  judgments. 

Each  theoretical  and  practical  problem  is  debated 
only  by  the  faculty  of  reason.  Its  acceptance,  how- 
ever, depends  on  the  self-conscious  and  self-sentient 
will  according  to  the  elevation  or  debasement  of  its 
individual  conscience. 

Consequently,  it  is  not  reason  as  such,  but  the 
state  of  the  individual  conscience  which  evokes  con- 
viction. Reason  merely  elucidates  and  prepares  for 
conviction.  Reason  is  only  the  mental  activity  of  the 
will,  but  self-conscious  and  self-sentient  determina- 
tion is  required  in  order  to  accept  or  reject  a  con- 
viction. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND 79 

How  do  "We  apply  our  hearts  to  conscience? 

We  apply  our  hearts  to  conscience  by  loving  the 
Voice  of  God  as  the  highest  gift  of  life.  Conscience 
is  the  Voice  of  God  speaking  to  our  hearts.  It 
tells  us  that  holiness,  truth  and  love  constitute  the 
Divine  prototype  of  life,  that  we  must  worship,  con- 
template and  love  them  with  all  our  sentiments,  in 
order  to  follow  this  holiest  prototype. 

Divine  love  is  the  fulfillment  of  worthy  life,  and 
he  who  does  not  attempt  and  strive  for  this  fulfill- 
ment is  bound  to  love  unworthy  things.  Therefore, 
foolish  is  the  heart  which  does  not  possess  the  love 
of  the  Voice  of  God. 

To  answer  the  broad  question,  what  is  the  best 
manner  of  life,  is  to  counsel  the  devotion  of  all  ef- 
forts to  the  education  and  elevation  of  the  individual 
conscience,  for  only  through  this  divine  means  can 
immortal  honor,  power  and  beatitude  be  attained. 


Why  must  T»e  apply  our  hearts  to  conscience? 

We  must  apply  our  hearts  to  conscience,  because 
it  is  the  urger  and  guardian  of  holy  sentiments;  be- 
cause the  love  of  conscience  opens  the  gates  to  di- 
vine blessings,  consisting  in  the  power  for  glorious 
achievements,  glorious  visions  and  glorious  beatitude. 

We  must  love  conscience,  because  it  protects  our 


80  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

little  souls  from  becoming  smaller  and  inspires  and 
leads  us  to  greater  spiritual  manhood;  because  it 
protects  the  honor  of  the  righteous  and  in  the  end 
always  conquers  the  depravity  of  false  and  base 
suspicions  and  statements. 

Conscience  is  the  most  intimate  temple  of  the 
heart,  the  source,  the  glory  and  the  spirit  of  each 
worthy  law,  the  leader  to  religious  elevation,  the 
sunshine  of  our  visions,  the  tribunal  of  all  judgments 
and  the  inspiration  of  all  worthy  deeds.  This  is 
why  we  must  love  conscience. 

Where  the  love  of  conscience  is  not  the  moving 
impulse  of  the  heart,  there  is  no  wisdom  and  all  is 
confusion,  as  we  plainly  see  in  our  denominational, 
political,  social  and  individual  conditions.  The  ab- 
sence of  the  love  of  conscience  is  the  curse  of  human- 
ity, and  there  will  be  no  relief  from  these  depressing 
and  dangerous  conditions  until  mankind  turns  its 
heart  to  the  Voice  of  God. 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  SIMPLICITY 

The  virtue  of  simplicity  is  the  law  of  conscience 
which  demands  a  truthful  testimony  in  all  our  deeds, 
thoughts  and  sentiments. 

Its  particular  demand  is  sincerity  of  will,  veracity 
of  mind  and  modesty  of  attitude. 


_  VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND  81 

How  is  the  sincerity  of  will  expressed? 

Sincerity  of  will  is  expressed  by  the  clear  state- 
ment of  the  reasons  why  a  certain  deed  is  to  be  done 
or  is  not  to  be  done. 

If  the  deed  which  is  to  be  performed  is  good,  the 
reason  for  its  performance  must  be  stated  with  full 
sincerity,  in  order  to  elicit  the  sentiment  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  good  deed.  Only  sincere  state- 
ments cause  faith  in  good  deeds,  enhance  devotion 
to  good  deeds  and  evoke  gratitude  for  good  deeds. 

If  the  deed  which  is  contemplated  is  evil,  the 
reason  for  its  baseness  must  also  be  stated  with  full 
sincerity  in  order  to  move  the  sentiment  against  its 
performance.  Sincere  statements  prevent  faithless- 
ness, self-devotion  and  ingratitude,  which  are  the 
three  cardinal  sins  of  man. 


is  sincerity  of  will  so  necessary? 

The  will,  being  the  principal  force  of  the  soul, 
must,  by  the  fact  of  its  responsibility,  give  proof  of 
its  truthful  state,  in  all  determinations,  for  the  sake  of 
its  own  worthiness  and  the  esteem  of  others. 

A  sincere  man,  by  virtue  of  the  sense  of  his 
spiritual  honor,  strives  to  manifest  his  good  will,  be- 
cause his  predominant  interest  lies  in  good  and 
worthy  deeds. 

His  motives  are  always  alert  and  sensitive  to  the 


82 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

elevation  of  the  human  character  and  the  betterment 
of  human  conditions.  He  feels  this  lofty  impulse, 
deriving  from  his  love  of  conscience  and  follows  it 
with  unhesitating  determination. 

The  insincere  man  deceives  himself  in  order  to 
deceive  others.  He  has  not  the  will  to  give  testi- 
mony to  truth  by  his  deeds.  All  that  he  thinks  and 
does  is  so  underhanded  and  tortuous  that  neither 
he  nor  others  can  be  sure  of  his  precise  motive.  If 
he  cannot  employ  false  statements  he  resorts  to  vague 
or  misleading  statements  in  order  to  justify  the  con- 
clusions which  enable  him  to  evade  the  performance 
of  a  good  deed. 

If  he  is  not  utterly  base,  he  avows  good  inten- 
tions but  indefinitely  postpones  their  fulfillment.  If 
he  is  overtaken  by  some  misfortune,  he  renews  his 
erstwhile  good  intentions,  only  to  forget  them  as 
soon  as  the  danger  has  passed. 

The  truly  religious  man  is  wholly  sincere.  He 
has  no  motives  to  hide  or  to  twist.  He  wants  his  will 
to  be  truthful  before  the  truth  of  God. 

If  he  perceives  that  his  religious  convictions  and 
opinions,  inculcated  by  the  spirit  of  ages,  are  not 
strictly  truthful,  he  discards  them  and  searches 
earnestly  for  more  light. 

If  he  apprehends  that  his  political  and  social 
habits  and  tendencies  are  not  strictly  consistent  with 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND 83 

the  Voice  of  God,  he  abandons  them  and  willingly 
sacrifices  his  personal  privileges  for  the  honor  of 
gaining  a  greater  conscience. 

This  is  the  truly  sincere  man,  the  true  man  of 
God,  and  if  humanity  had  but  a  few  scores  of  such 
sincere  men,  all  the  misery  on  our  earth  would  vanish 
in  a  few  generations. 

HOJV  is  veracity  of  mind  achieved? 

Veracity  of  mind  is  achieved  through  strict  at- 
tention and  cleaving  to  the  Voice  of  God. 

Conscience  is  the  sole  means  by  virtue  of  which 
truthfulness  is  expressed,  and  there  is  no  other  means 
for  compelling  man  to  be  truthful.  He  who  adores 
and  loves  the  Voice  of  God  adores  and  loves  truth, 
and  he  who  does  not  adore  and  love  truth  is  de- 
prived of  the  ground  and  aim  of  truthfulness,  re- 
gardless of  his  learning  or  ignorance,  and  of  his  re- 
ligious or  irreligious  pretenses.  Truthfulness  is  the 
personal  acceptance  and  attestation  of  the  truth  of 
God,  and  those  who  do  not  clearly  see  and  feel  this 
fact  cannot  be  sincerely  truthful  in  the  most  vital 
affairs  of  life. 

Truth  must  be  searched  for  and  accepted  whole- 
heartedly in  order  to  cause  truthfulness  in  the  mind; 
because  we  can  never  see  any  object  clearly  unless 
we  have  a  great  interest  and  love  for  the  object. 


84 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

The  most  vital  condition  of  life  is  the  understand- 
ing of  the  immutable  essence  and  purpose  of  life, 
without  which  neither  our  intrinsic  rights  nor  duties 
can  be  clearly  understood. 

The  understanding  of  rights  and  duties  is  a  mat- 
ter of  conscience,  which  constitutes  the  sole  basis  of 
responsibility,  inherently  connected  with  all  our 
deeds,  thoughts  and  sentiments  and  the  honor  and 
value  of  life. 

W\\\)  is  truthfulness  of  mind  so  imperative? 

The  imperativeness  of  truthfulness  follows  from 
the  absolute  importance  of  truth,  and  the  consequent 
necessity  for  its  attestation  in  all  spiritual  manifesta- 
tions. 

Truth  is  the  divine  light  of  life,  and  truthfulness 
the  application  of  our  minds  to  this  holy  light.  Our 
self-consciousness  must  be  true  in  its  principle,  that 
consciousness  may  be  truthful  in  all  its  courses. 
Without  the  will  and  sentiment  for  this  holy  princi- 
ple, truthfulness  of  mind  is  impossible. 

Not  having  truth  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  man 
has  no  intense  desire  to  make  strictly  truthful  state- 
ments. Yet,  it  is  on  the  truthfulness  of  statements 
that  we  conduct  all  of  life's  efforts  and  we  know 
the  failures  and  discontent  which  always  follow  false 
statements. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND 85 

This  fact  applies  not  only  to  practical  life,  but 
also  to  all  religious,  philosophical  and  political 
theories,  which  rise  and  then  vanish  because  of  their 
lack  of  complete  truthfulness. 

There  will  be  no  light  of  God  in  humanity  until 
we  learn  to  love  His  holiest  light  and  resolve  to  live 
accordingly.  It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  reach  out 
to  past  ages  for  this  divine  light.  It  is  with  us  now 
more  than  at  any  former  time  in  the  history  of 
humanity.  Never  before  has  the  conscience  of  man 
been  moved  so  deeply  as  it  is  to-day,  and  this  fact 
is  the  most  significant  sign  of  our  times. 

Conscience  claims  its  supreme  right  over  all  other 
considerations.  The  "Higher  Law"  is  imprinted 
with  divine  fire  in  our  souls  and,  more  than  ever 
before,  urges  us  to  better  thoughts  and  motives  and 
more  than  ever  smites  each  base  and  selfish  purpose 
with  its  burning  flame. 

How  is  modesty  of  attitude  attained? 

Modesty  of  attitude,  having  its  ground  in  humility, 
the  principal  attitude  of  the  soul  before  God,  can  be 
attained  only  by  the  continuous  practice  of  humility. 
Humility  is  the  urger  and  wisdom  the  torch  of  light 
by  which  the  modesty  of  attitude  is  attained. 

Self-respect  consists  in  these  two  virtues  mainly, 
and  for  this  reason  we  never  find  a  self-respecting 


86 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

man  who  is  boastful,  arrogant  or  stupid  either  in 
his  words  or  manner. 

Modesty  of  attitude  is  the  last  expression  of  the 
soul's  simplicity.  It  compels  the  soul  to  acknowledge 
the  providential  conditions  in  which  it  is  placed,  with 
the  sole  aim  and  purpose  of  virtuous  progress. 

No  providential  condition  excludes  virtuous  ad- 
vancement. Those  with  ample  possessions  can  as- 
sist the  destitute,  the  learned  can  help  the  ignorant 
and  the  virtuous  man  always  serves  the  less  virtuous 
or  unvirtuous. 

True  assistance  is  given  in  a  modest  manner,  be- 
cause of  the  virtuous  man's  consciousness  of  our  ab- 
solute dependence  from  God,  and  of  the  relative  in- 
terdependence in  our  contact  with  others. 

If  this  religious  truth  and  sentiment  is  not  vivid 
in  our  conscience,  the  pride  of  man  will  strive  after 
ruthless  acquisitions  and  preferments,  with  their  in- 
herent tendency  to  human  slavery,  instead  of  human 
brotherhood. 

The  immodesty  of  the  human  mind  and  heart 
causes  boastfulness,  vanity  and  sensual  indulgence. 
Furthermore,  it  causes  the  revolt  of  the  common 
conscience  of  the  masses  against  those  who,  by  their 
preferred  station,  are  conscience-bound  to  give  proof 
of  spiritual  superiority. 

The   sense  of  honor  is   attained  not  by   insipid 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND 87 

vanities,  but  by  means  of  sacrificial  deeds  and  lofty 
sentiments,  and  these  are  intrinsically  modest.  Vir- 
tuous men  do  not  raise  their  heads  above  others  nor 
do  they  bow  before  others.  They  look  steadfastly 
for  the  love  of  God  and  humanity,  in  order  to  render 
the  greatest  possible  service.  This  is  the  temper  of 
each  soul  with  a  lofty  conscience  and  true  religious 
attitude. 

Why  is  modesty  of  attitude  so  necessary? 

The  necessity  for  modesty  of  attitude  follows  from 
the  fact  that  we  are  the  spiritual  offspring  of  God. 
Our  souls  are  not  made  by  us  or  by  any  other 
creature,  nor  are  our  bodies  and  the  external  condi- 
tions of  life. 

Moreover,  the  soul  and  body  cannot  be  made  by 
a  blind  natural  force,  as  some  suggest,  because  what 
does  not  possess  will,  intellect  and  sentiment  cannot 
cause  a  planful  and  purposeful  spiritual  form,  as  the 
soul  is,  nor  a  planful  and  purposeful  physical  body 
which  the  soul  possesses.  Only  ignorance  of  the  first 
laws  of  logic,  or  a  perverted  sentiment  is  capable  of 
suggesting  such  a  patent  impossibility. 

All  the  failures  to  explain  the  mystery  of  life 
from  the  so-called  scientific  viewpoint  are  the  direct 
consequence  of  immodesty  of  attitude  toward  God 
and  His  great  and  holy  plan  of  creation. 


88 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

However,  boastfulness,  with  its  inherent  dis- 
regard, and  ruthlessness,  are  by  no  means  the  ex- 
clusive manifestations  of  the  so-called  infidels. 
Human  history  has  many  black  pages,  filled  with 
fiendish  cruelty  and  persecution,  perpetrated  by  the 
leaders  among  nearly  all  of  the  most  influential 
creeds  and  the  "faithful  followers  of  holy  scrip- 

M 

tures. 

Only  since  conscience  asserted  its  divine  right 
among  the  masses,  has  this  ungodly  cruelty  come  to 
an  end,  though  its  brutal  spirit  is  not  yet  wholly  ex- 
terminated. 

The  liberal  movement  in  many  creeds  endeavors 
to  supply  what  it  cannot  find  in  its  "holy  scriptures" 
and  appeals  to  profounder  religion  and  inner  life  in 
order  to  save  mankind  from  the  threatening  disaster. 
So  long,  however,  as  this  good  intention  of  religious 
"liberalism"  does  not  look  into  the  eternal  gospel  of 
conscience  and  fails  to  give  it  at  least  a  small  part 
of  the  attention  which  it  has  hitherto  devoted  to  the 
various  interpretations  of  ancient  writers,  these  ef- 
forts will  be  fruitless.  Liberalism  must  learn  to  plead 
with  the  inveterate  sentiments  of  the  unprogressive 
masses  and  strive  to  show  humanity  a  greater  and 
more  beautiful  world  of  God  than  that  which  the 
past  has  left  us.  The  blind  and  brutal  fanatical 
spirit  with  its  traditional  prejudices  and  false  piet- 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  MIND 89 

ism  must  be  removed  and  new  "men  of  God"  must 
come  forward  to  save  our  world  from  retrogression 
to  barbarism. 

The  opportunist,  surrounded  with  wordly  means, 
may  smile  at  this  admonition,  but  so  did  many  "ex- 
alted" men  of  the  recent  past.  They  smile  no  more. 

The  reign  of  sincerity,  truthfulness  and  modesty 
with  its  sweet  and  innocent  spirit  of  religion  will 
not  be  introduced  and  the  blessing  of  God  brought 
to  us  until  the  spirit  of  pride,  falsehood,  vanity  and 
lust,  with  its  boisterous  pretenses,  is  subdued.  There 
is  no  law  to  curb  this  wicked  spirit  save  the  law  of 
simplicity  in  conscience. 

Simplicity  is  the  great  harmonizer  of  life.  It  ex- 
presses not  only  the  true  capacity  of  every  man  but 
also  the  true  willingness  of  each  capacity  for  worthy 
service.  The  simple  soul  is  always  the  best  servant 
of  the  human  race,  just  as  the  soul  filled  with 
duplicity  is  always  the  destroyer  of  the  little  happi- 
ness which  humanity  possesses. 

He  who  wants  to  be  earnestly  religious  must  cling 
to  heavenly  simplicity,  and  soon  he  will  find  him- 
self nearer  to  God  and  will  clearly  understand  his 
station  of  sacrificial  service. 

Simplicity  is  the  true  refinement  of  the  soul.  Every 
noble  man  loves  a  sincere  and  truthful  soul,  for  it 
can  always  be  implicitly  trusted,  and  its  modesty  is 


90  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

so  attractive  that  it  evokes  admiration  and  gratitude 
without  the  slightest  effort.  Even  the  wicked  have 
trust  in  such  a  soul,  if  for  no  other  reason,  because 
the  sense  of  fear  is  absent. 

Thus  it  becomes  evident  how  necessary  this  virtue 
is  in  order  to  prove  the  religious  character  of  man. 
It  is  the  general  absence  of  this  proof  which  gives 
the  deriders  of  the  faith  in  God  the  opportunity  to 
attack  the  very  veracity  of  religion. 

WHAT  FORMS  CONSTITUTE  THE  REFLEX  OF 

DIVINE  ATTRIBUTES  PERTAINING  TO 

THE  LOVE  OF  GOD? 

The  attributes  pertaining  to  the  Love  of  God  are 
Divine  sacrifice,  justice  and  goodness.  Consequently, 
their  superspiritual  reflexes  in  conscience  are  the 
virtues  of  love,  righteousness  and  goodness. 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  LOVE 

The  motive  of  pure  love  is  sacrifice,  the  imitation 
and  affirmation  of  love  Divine. 

The  virtue  of  love  lives  on  the  adoration  of  the 
most  adorable,  on  the  love  of  truth  and  truthfulness, 
and  on  the  intense  desire  to  realize  the  glory  and 
truth  of  life  in  sacrificial  motives,  charitable  senti- 
ments and  in  universal  sympathy  and  chastity. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART  91 

Any  other  love  is  unclean,  selfish  or  criminal  and 
leads  to  disillusion,  bitterness  and  self-imposed  suf- 
fering, the  unavoidable  result  of  ungodly  life. 

Hotv  are  sacrificial  motives  attained? 

Sacrificial  motives  are  attained  by  the  continuous 
consciousness  that  the  soul  is  of  Divine  issue,  for  the 
sake  of  the  participation  in  Divine  life.  The  ever- 
present  consciousness  that  the  will  and  mind  are 
created  for  worthiness  and  truth,  and  the  profound 
sentiency  that  the  heart  is  created  for  pure  love  con- 
stitute the  essential  and  most  direct  path  for  attain- 
ing sacrificial  motives  in  our  deeds. 

This  consciousness  and  sentiment  is  the  inward 
proof  that  we  must  have  faith  in  and  devotion  and 
gratitude  to  God,  and  he  who  does  not  heed  and 
cherish  this  great  purpose  of  life  has  little  or  no  true 
interest  in  religion. 

Why  must  sacrificial  motives  be  attained? 

Sacrificial  motives  must  be  attained,  because  they 
are  the  sole  proof  of  religious  life  and  inward  dig- 
nity. 

Faith  in  God  is  the  most  sacred  trust  of  holy 
mutuality,  the  focus  of  divine  childship,  in  which  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  is  supremely  adored  and  loved. 

Faith  in  God  means  faith  in  His  holiness,  and  the 


92  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


revealing  might  of  holiness  is  sacrifice,  on  which 
each  creature  lives. 

Sacrifice  is  the  living  motive  and  the  holy  rhythm 
of  life  and  each  act  which  does  not  comply  with 
this  divine  order  is  worthless  and  dangerous. 

Devotion  to  God  is  the  true  power  of  life.  He 
whose  life  is  not  devoted  to  the  holiest  cause  of  all 
life  is  not  a  true  child  of  God. 

Devotion,  in  the  sacrificial  sense,  is  the  inspirer  of 
worthy  action,  the  course  of  true  heroism  and  the 
path  of  immortal  glory.  Each  soul  lives  on  more  or 
less  pronounced  human  devotion,  but  it  is  the  devo- 
tion to  sacrifice  which  imparts  sublimity  to  life  and 
which  decrees  its  future  station. 

Everybody  knows  the  perverted  and  unvirtuous 
devotions  to  vanity,  greed  and  sensuality  and  every 
serious  man  has  the  righteous  feeling  that  misery 
must  follow  such  a  course. 

Whoever  has  squandered  his  spiritual  forces  on 
ruthless  self-indulgence  cannot  expect  divine  blessing 
and,  in  his  conscience,  he  has  no  such  expectation. 
He  prefers  to  believe  in  the  mortality  of  his  soul, 
in  order  to  destroy  the  last  vestige  of  his  immortal 
responsibility. 

Gratitude  is  the  heavenly  fruition  and  fragrance 
of  sacrifice.  It  is  both  the  appreciation  and  the  joy 
of  sacrifice.  Only  profound  souls  are  capable  of  pro- 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART  93 

found  sacrifice;  souls  of  great  faith  and  devotion  to 
the  holy  cause  of  sacrificial  life. 

All  sins  and  transgressions  are  the  direct  con- 
sequences of  the  disregard  and  lack  of  the  sacrificial 
spirit  that  derives  from  faith,  devotion  and  gratitude 
to  God. 

Hov>  are  charitable  sentiments  attained? 

Charitable  sentiments  are  attained  through  con- 
tinuous recourse  of  our  thoughts  and  sentiments  to 
the  fact  that  we  are  the  children  of  God  and,  there- 
fore, are  bound  by  the  holy  bond  of  superspiritual 
and  spiritual  mutuality. 

That  we  are  fallen  souls  makes  the  practice  of 
charity  all  the  more  necessary,  because  we  must 
have  charity  for  the  sake  of  our  virtuous  growth  and 
the  great  life  that  is  waiting  for  us. 

All  our  aims  and  efforts  must  be  performed  in 
the  spirit  of  charity,  in  order  that  we  may  obtain 
divine  blessing.  Nothing  else  thrives  before  the  Face 
of  God,  because  charity  is  the  course  of  sacrifice. 

Why  are  charitable  sentiments  so  necessary? 

Because  they  are  the  living  imitation  of  the  most 
charitable  operation  of  God,  relatively  to  all  souls. 

Imitation  of  the  best  is  affirmation  of  the  best; 
the  affirmation  of  the  sacrificial  spirit,  which  is 


94  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


charity.  Thus  charity  must  be  the  most  effectual 
part  of  our  life.  A  soul  devoid  of  the  sentiment  of 
charity  is  full  of  ruthlessness,  heartlessness  and  the 
potentiality  for  all  possible  crimes. 

We  must  give  the  best  that  is  in  us  to  God,  to 
all  human  and  sub-human  creatures  and  never  cease 
giving,  for  such  is  the  life  of  God. 

Why  must  t»e  have  universal  sympathy? 

Because  universal  sympathy  is  a  holy  law  of  life. 
It  is  the  sentimental  necessity  which  brings  heavenly 
harmony  and  joy  into  our  life.  Nothing  is  well 
understood  unless  one  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
object  of  his  understanding. 

No  principle  of  life  can  be  logically  conceived, 
no  process  consistently  surveyed  and  no  effect  of 
life  fully  appreciated  unless  divine  sympathy  is  the 
impulse  of  understanding. 

No  cause,  no  man  and  no  creature  can  be  rightly 
estimated  unless  the  divine  warmth  of  sympathy 
leads  us  to  the  appreciation  of  each  being  and  of 
each  thing.  The  lack  of  this  virtuous  sympathy 
causes  pride,  conceit,  contempt  and  hate,  with  their 
disastrous  consequences.  Let  us  put  a  final  question. 
What  kind  of  man  is  he  who  has  no  sympathy  with 
the  highest  values  of  spiritual  life?  Has  he  religion 
in  his  heart?  Never! 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART  95 

Why  is  chastity  so  indispensable  to  religious  life? 

Religious  life  consists  in  following  the  holy  Will 
of  God  for  the  sake  of  our  sanctification,  that  we 
may  attain  heaven  with  its  eternal  glory,  power, 
light  and  love;  that  we  may  live  in  the  nearness  to 
God  and  partake  in  His  Divinity. 

The  body  is  the  providential  instrument  of  the 
soul  for  the  purpose  of  holy  aims.  There  is  no  other 
worthy  reason  for  its  existence.  Consequently,  the 
body  cannot  be  used  for  arbitrary  ends  of  sensual 
delight. 

Chastity  binds  with  equal  force  each  single  or 
married  person.  In  either  state  there  is  no  escape 
from  its  commandment. 

Sensual  delight  has  only  one  worthy  reason  and 
this  reason  is  procreation.  Beyond  this  exclusive 
aim,  indulgence  in  sensual  delight  is  a  sinful  act, 
unworthy  of  sacramental  matrimony  or  of  any  pro- 
foundly religious  soul. 

There  is  no  more  insisting  inclination  in  the  aver- 
age man  than  the  craving  after  the  flesh,  and  every 
dietetic  and  social  precaution  ought  to  be  applied 
in  order  to  avoid  the  sensual  lure. 

There  is  nothing  more  disturbing  and  weakening 
to  the  soul's  energy,  the  mind  and  the  heart,  and 
nothing  more  enervating  to  the  body  than  the  in- 


%  _  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL  _ 

diligence  in  sensuality.  The  mediocrity  and  weakness 
of  the  human  character,  its  low  mental  and  senti- 
mental capacity,  and  the  lack  of  the  strict  sense  of 
righteousness,  are  consequences  mainly  of  sensual 
life. 

The  cause  of  this  debasement  lies  in  the  lack  of 
love  for  conscience  and  the  consequent  lack  of  de- 
light in  great  spiritual  visions  and  sentiments. 

The  soul  must  have  delight  in  its  life.  If  it  has 
no  delight  in  holy  glory,  truth  and  love,  it  will  reach 
out  for  the  evanescent  delights  of  nature  at  the  cost 
of  its  debasement  and  suffering. 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS 

Righteousness  is  the  reflex  of  Divine  justice  in 
conscience.  Its  might  consists  in  the  guardianship  of 
holy  values  and  the  eternal  support  and  rule  of  holy 
order. 

All  right  actions,  right  thinking,  and  right  senti- 
ments follow  the  law  of  righteousness,  which  applies 
with  equal  force  to  all  theoretical  and  practical 
questions. 

There  is  nothing  in  our  spiritual  life  in  which 
righteousness  is  not  concerned.  The  slightest  omis- 
sion or  neglect  of  its  commanding  power  is  im- 
mediately followed  by  disturbing  consequences. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART 97 

Righteousness,  in  all  social  and  personal  relations, 
is  more  exacting  than  any  other  virtue,  because  it  is 
the  most  permeating  and  practical  virtue.  The  value 
of  each  deed,  thought  and  sentiment  can  always  be 
seen  in  the  mirror  of  righteousness. 

Horv  can  righteousness  be  attained? 

There  is  only  one  way  to  attain  righteousness  and 
that  is  through  constant  association  with  conscience 
and  the  strict  heeding  of  its  dictates.  No  written 
law  is  inwardly  compelling  unless  the  motive  to  fol- 
low that  law  is  sustained  by  the  active  impulse  and 
sentiment  for  righteousness. 

The  righteous  man  constantly  nurtures  the  disposi- 
tion of  generous  mutuality  in  his  heart.  He  never 
forgets  a  kind  act  and  anxiously  awaits  the  oppor- 
tunity to  serve  those  who  have  served  him  righteously. 
Thus  the  profounder  the  virtue  of  gratitude,  the 
readier  and  more  effective  is  the  spirit  of  righteous- 
ness. 

Why  is  righteousness  so  indispensable  to  our  spiritual 
honor  and  progress? 

Because  it  is  the  way  of  the  sacrificial  spirit  and 
the  most  tangible  commandment  of  justification,  fair- 
mindedness  and  honesty. 

Because  it  is  the  sole  protector  against  unholy 


98  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

aggression  and  the   infallible  guide  to  worthiness, 
spiritual  elevation,  true  happiness  and  joy. 

Because  it  is  the  law  and  order  of  true  mutuality 
and  the  holy  executor  of  the  Will  of  God. 

Righteousness  constitutes  the  most  visible  and  ef- 
fective test  of  true  religion  in  the  soul.  Everything 
that  is  not  strictly  righteous  is  irreligious,  regardless 
of  pietistic  presumption. 

God  does  not  hear  the  prayers  of  unrighteous 
souls,  because  they  pray  unrighteously.  Conse- 
quently, no  man  of  conscience  gives  assistance  to  an 
unrighteous  cause. 

Righteousness  is  the  indelible  mark  of  the  true 
religious  spirit  and  everything  beyond  it  is  hypocrisy, 
simulation  and  common  deceit. 

There  are  two  leading  indictments  against  the 
human  character,  untruthfulness  and  unrighteousness, 
the  former  manifesting  the  lack  of  the  right  mind 
and  the  latter  the  lack  of  the  right  heart  in  man. 
Lies  and  deceit  form  a  large  part  of  our  life  and 
yet  we  are  astonished  at  the  helplessness,  ignorance 
and  perplexity  of  our  leaders  and  the  confusion  of 
the  masses. 

Nothing  can  be  expected  without  righteousness. 
If  the  upper  stratum  of  human  society  will  not  make 
a  greater  effort  for  a  more  righteous  social  order, 
then  sooner  or  later  the  distrusting  and  suffering 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART  99 

masses  will  tear  down  this  order  through  hate  and 
contempt. 

The  masses  need  and  want  leadership,  but  they 
want  at  least  as  much  righteousness  in  this  leader- 
ship as  is  necessary  to  insure  greater  spiritual  and 
material  mutuality,  the  inborn  right  of  each  living 
being. 

Unrighteousness  is  the  most  corrupting  and  de- 
structive element  in  the  soul.  It  is  devoid  of  all  feel- 
ing of  holiness,  of  truth  and  love,  and  thrives  on  the 
violation  of  faith,  honor,  innocence  and  righteous 
means  in  order  to  attain  dishonorable  vainglory  and 
base  material  gain. 

The  lack  of  righteousness  causes  false  ideals  and 
fanaticism  with  their  ruthless  and  brutal  con- 
sequences. If  this  Divine  law  is  not  heeded  with 
that  unwavering  firmness  which  is  the  inherent  char- 
acter of  this  law,  all  sinful  and  criminal  aims  are 
undertaken  under  its  cover  and  pursued  in  the  name 
of  God.  Hence  the  general  lack  of  profound  esteem 
and  sentiment  for  the  establishment  of  the  righteous 
spirit  of  laws. 

Employment  of  unrighteous  means  in  order  to  at- 
tain righteous  aims  is  essentially  unrighteous.  Thou 
shall  be  righteous  is  the  clear  Voice  of  God,  and 
this  means  under  all  conditions  and  circumstances. 

The  necessity  for  this  virtue  in  the  will,  intellect 


100  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

and  sentiment  is  so  great  that  it  ought  to  be  con- 
stantly held  before  our  eyes  and  inculcated  in  our 
hearts. 

Humanity  is  one  of  the  innumerable  families  in 
our  existential  sphere.  If  the  righteous  bond  of  re- 
ligion is  not  strictly  applied  in  our  human  relations, 
we  forfeit  the  holiest  bond  with  God  and  through 
godless  obduracy,  ignorance  and  ruthlessness  become 
the  destroyers  of  that  most  intimate  sense  of  human 
brotherhood  by  virtue  of  which  alone  true  progress 
is  possible. 

Righteous  life  is  worthy  of  all  human  sacrifices, 
for  it  constitutes  the  heart's  inward  nobility,  the 
power  and  joy  of  immortal  friendship,  the  proof  of 
honor,  clear  judgment,  true  affection,  the  spirit  of 
universal  order  and  the  unfailing  path  to  immortal 
glory,  power,  wisdom  and  beatitude. 

THE  VIRTUE  OF  GOODNESS 

Goodness  is  the  last,  the  most  effective  and  the 
most  expressive  virtue.  Its  power  consists  in  crown- 
ing all  preceding  virtues  with  heavenly  attraction. 

Since  attraction  is  a  very  vital  sentimental  part 
of  our  life,  goodness  furnishes  that  heavenly  sweet- 
ness and  beauty  for  which  all  souls  a*re  so  hungry. 

It  is  the  gentlest  of  all  virtues,  because,  in  itself, 
being  the  efflorescence  of  all  virtues,  it  attracts  and 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART 


overwhelms  more  by  its  inherent  beauty  than  by  the 
intensity  of  power  which  all  other  virtues  demand. 

Its  intrinsic  forms  are  benevolence  and  magna- 
nimity, earnestness  and  enthusiasm,  and  spiritual 
grace  and  beauty. 

In  all  these  forms  we  see  the  greatness  of  re- 
ligious beauty  and,  at  the  same  time,  where  this 
virtuous  beauty  is  not  distinctly  visible,  we  observe 
the  lack  of  the  true  religious  spirit. 

Goodness  is  the  living  sympathy  with  the  life  of 
God,  and  with  all  other  lives  according  to  the  life 
of  God.  It  is  the  gentlest,  most  benevolent  and 
magnanimous  conqueror  of  fallen  souls.  Its  earnest- 
ness permeates  everyone  with  respect,  without  the 
use  of  effort.  Its  enthusiasm  strikes  the  latent  senti- 
ments in  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  heart  and  reveals 
the  fact  that  in  each  soul  is  some  part  -cf  the 
spiritual  grace  and  beauty  which  everybody  is*  so 
eager  to  see  and  to  sense. 

Hoiv  is  the  virtue  of  goodness  attained? 

This  virtue  is  attained  through  the  cultivation  and 
application  of  sacrificial  sentiments.  Sacrifice,  being 
the  effectual  form  of  holy  life,  insists  on  the  mani- 
festation of  its  holy  might  for  the  sake  of  mutual 
elevation  and  the  joy  of  its  purity. 

The  benevolent  will  must  be  continually  exercised, 


102 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

in  order  to   attain  sacrificial  power  and   the  con- 
sequent rise  to  a  holier  life  in  the  hereafter. 

Good  deeds  must  be  highly  esteemed  and  pro- 
foundly loved,  for  good  deeds  are  the  stepping 
stones  of  our  spiritual  rise  to  the  grandeur  of  heavenly 
life.  Therefore,  nothing  in  life  is  either  esteemed 
or  loved  that  has  no  clear  mark  of  this  expressive 
virtue. 

We  need  goodness  not  only  in  order  to  enjoy  the 
respect  of  others,  but  also  for  our  own  self-respect— 
the  consciousness  and  feeling  of  our  personal  worthi- 
ness. 

The  most  miserable  soul  is  the  one  that  is  incap- 
able of  good  deeds  and  it  always  feels  and  manifests 
this  misery  in  its  inveterate  suspicions,  discontent  and 
grumbling.  The  heavenly  sun  of  goodness  does  not 
shine  in  such  a  heart. 

The  heart's  dispositions  and  impulses  must  be 
c are hil)y  guarded  by  the  ever-conscious  will  to  con- 
science, that  no  selfish  and  impure  motive  may  mis- 
lead us  to  our  inward  dishonor  and  resulting  re- 
morse, with  the  inevitable  necessity  of  reparation  and 
rehabilitation. 

The  best  deed  is  the  one  which  is  well  done  from 
the  start.  Its  effect  is  always  blessing  and  satisfy- 
ing, regardless  of  whether  or  not  it  is  known  by 
others. 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART  103 

The  first  witness  of  our  deeds  is  God  and  each 
man  with  conscience  and  self-respect  is  duty-bound 
not  to  let  this  fact  escape  his  memory.  -Only  the 
wicked  soul  does  not  want  this  Eternal  Witness. 

All  deeds  which  do  not  possess  the  power  of 
goodness  are,  to  say  the  least,  a  waste  of  time.  Time 
is  given  for  glorious  deeds  and  the  attainment  of  high 
mentality  and  profound  sentiments. 

Waste  of  time  takes  vengeance  on  the  whole 
value  and  destiny  of  our  life.  Instead  of  becoming 
powerful  spiritual  beings,  full  of  vibrant  good  will, 
clear  and  lofty  thoughts,  and  replete  with  the  noblest 
enthusiasm  and  joy  of  virtuous  life,  we  grow  into 
spiritual  cripples,  deprived  of  great  will  power,  with 
beclouded  minds  and  contracted  hearts,  into  which 
nothing  lofty  and  great  can  enter.  From  three- 
fourths  to  ninety-nine  hundreths  of  our  human  life  is 
a  waste,  and  severely  speaking,  a  criminal  waste. 
In  view  of  this  fact  how  can  we  expect  greater 
spiritual  progress,  for  which  the  whole  humanity  is 
crying? 

The  privileged  classes  amuse  themselves  with 
petty  ambitions,  ostentatious  vanity  and  concealed 
sensuality.  And  the  lower  classes,  seeing  this  glaring 
spectacle  of  stupidity  and  heartlessness,  organize 
themselves  not  only  for  self-defense,  but  also  for 
common  revenge. 


104 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

In  the  middle  stand  the  small  number  of  good 
preachers  and  teachers,  pleading  with  the  one  and 
the  other  side  for  greater  mutuality.  Weak,  through 
the  lack  of  clear  understanding  of  the  soul  and  con- 
science, and  entangled  by  a  mass  of  contrary  inter- 
pretations and  antiquated  traditions,  their  appeal 
fails  to  strike  the  conscience  and  intrinsic  honor  of 
man. 

They  do  not  use  the  Voice  of  God  as  the  supreme 
oracle  of  religion,  and,  consequently,  cannot  prove 
the  inward  bond  of  the  soul  with  God.  They  do  not 
teach  virtues  as  the  fundamental  essence  of  religion, 
but  offer  vague  promises  of  vicarious  salvation 
through  blind  faith. 

They  do  not  speak  of  the  eternal  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  Divine  perfections  and  thus  fail  to  present 
the  real  inward  attraction  of  a  religious  life. 

The  clear  motive  and  plan  of  Divine  creation 
is  not  explained,  and,  consequently,  no  man  really 
knows  what  he  is  and  for  what  he  exists;  he  has 
no  clear  vision  of  the  great  purpose  of  his  life.  And 
the  future  life  is  described  as  if  for  unthinking 
children  who  expect  nothing  but  mere  rest  and  com- 
mon joys. 

To  most  spiritual  teachers  the  natural  world  is 
rather  a  threatening  spectre  than  the  truthful  illustra- 
tion of  our  existential  conditions.  The  explanation 


VIRTUES  OF  THE  HEART  105 

of  nature  has  been  left  to  so-called  unbelievers  and 
"atheists,**  as  if  nature  were  created  by  some  evil 
spirit. 

In  view  of  these  pertinent  and  poignant  facts,  how 
is  it  possible  to  expect  religious  progress  in  human- 
ity? 

The  sustaining  of  religious  enthusiasm  needs  a 
constantly  increasing  spiritual  fuel.  Enthusiasm  will 
not  thrive  on  what  has  already  been  absorbed  in  the 
course  of  past  ages.  All  the  good  that  traditions 
have  done  is  merely  the  preparation  in  our  souls  of 
a  larger  heart  for  sublimer  religious  life. 

To  achieve  this  end  we  must  look  more  frequently 
into  conscience  and  then  into  our  hearts,  in  order  to 
see  the  exact  growth  of  our  personal  goodness.  For 
the  first  and  last  question  to  each  soul  on  the  passage 
from  one  life  to  another,  is,  what  good  hast  thou 
done  during  thy  past  course  of  life? 

Why  is  the  virtue  of  goodness  so  essential  to  our  life? 

Because  it  is  the  final  expression  of  true  humility 
and  the  incontestable  characteristic  of  the  religious 
soul. 

Because  it  is  the  virtuous  manifestation  of  inward 
honor,  truth  and  love,  the  one  worthy  aim  of  our  life 
and  the  ineffaceable  sign  of  our  divine  childship. 


106  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Because  it  nurtures  the  fortitude  of  our  wills  and 
leads  us  to  the  triumph  over  all  evil. 

Because  its  origin  is  heavenly  life  and  thus  it  is 
the  carrier  and  distributor  of  the  beautifying  purity 
of  life.  Everything  yields  before  its  might  and  it 
covers  every  wickedness  with  shame. 

Because  goodness  is  the  incontestable  interpreta- 
tion of  all  truth  and  the  victorious  weapon  of  holiness 
against  falsehood. 

Because  all  its  deeds  lead  to  and  manifest  wis- 
dom. Hence  no  act  is  wise  unless  goodness  is  th^ 
aim  of  the  act. 

Because  sincerity  of  will,  truthfulness  of  mind 
and  modesty  of  heart  are  the  essential  conditions 
through  which  true  goodness  is  manifested.  Good- 
ness always  has  these  divine  characteristics  in  its 
expressions. 

Goodness  consists  of  greater  or  less  sacrifices  and 
frees  the  soul  from  egocentric  tendencies  and  com- 
mon selfishness.  It  obtains  its  virtuous  power  from 
sacrifice,  the  true  sense  and  proof  of  worthy  life. 
For  this  reason  everything  that  is  not  truly  good  is 
under  the  ban  of  condemnation. 

The  executive  might  of  righteousness  is  per- 
meated with  and  surrounded  by  goodness.  Thus 
nothing  is  good  that  is  not  righteously  executed.  The 
guardianship  of  righteousness  is  the  best  protector  of 


THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL [07 

such  worthy  life  as  we  possess  and  the  disregard  of 
this  holy  protection  causes  the  whole  misery  of  man- 
kind. 

Finally,  goodness  is  so  essential,  because  it  is  the 
heart  of  benevolence,  that  knows  no  ill  will  or  wish. 
It  is  the  builder  of  magnanimity,  that  sees  and  feels 
everything  in  the  grandeur  of  the  Divine  plan  of 
life,  and  the  bestower  of  true,  imperishable  cheer- 
fulness and  beauty  of  the  soul. 

THE  INWARD  LIKENESS  OF  THE 
RELIGIOUS  SOUL 

The  inwardly  religious  soul  is  determined  to  be 
conscious  and  sentient  of  the  might  of  God  and  of 
His  holy  Voice,  which  speaks  in  conscience.  In  his 
inwardness  he  constantly  protests  to  God  his  humble 
allegiance  through  faith  in,  devotion  to  and  gratitude 
for  the  heavenly  bond  of  religion,  which  imparts  to 
him  the  most  glorious  title  of  divine  childship. 

He  is  consummately  conscious  that  this  holy  bond 
and  title  is  the  immutable  ground  of  his  worthiness 
and  personal  honor,  for  the  full  attainment  of  which 
he  works  with  all  his  forces. 

In  this  work  consists  his  participation  in,  his  co- 
operation with  and  his  affirmation  of  the  divine  life 
within  himself,  for  this  life  constitutes  the  eternal 
focus  of  his  immortal  greatness  and  beatitude. 


108  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL     

From  the  living  faith  in  God  and  devotion  and 
gratitude  to  God,  the  manifest  trinity  of  humility, 
flows  the  virtue  of  fortitude,  transforming  debasing 
weakness  into  glorious  power,  darkness  into  clear 
light  and  low  and  morbid  sentiments  into  exaltation 
and  joy. 

The  joy  of  heavenly  beatitude  becomes  the  per- 
manent effect  in  him  and  the  spirit  of  its  power,  wis- 
dom and  goodness  imparts  itself  to  those  who  are 
fortunate  enough  to  be  near  him. 

With  this  inward  attitude  of  will,  he  applies  all 
his  mental  faculties  to  the  cognition  of  God  and  of 
His  holiest  attributes,  in  order  to  understand  and 
delight  in  the  grandeurs  of  the  prototypical  plan 
of  God,  and  in  order  to  guide  his  visions  according 
to  this  divine  plan,  without  the  understanding  of 
which  no  law  and  no  act  or  fact  of  life  can  be 
clearly  understood.  The  purpose  and  importance  of 
life  must  be  seen  in  the  absolute  plan  of  life. 

From  this  eternal  ground  of  vision  emanates  wis- 
dom, the  power  of  estimating  all  things  according  to 
the  holy  plan  of  God.  The  slightest  oversight  of  this 
insistent  truth  causes  endless  confusion,  both  in 
theoretical  and  practical  spheres. 

Thus  to  be  wise  means  to  be  determined  to  act,  to 
see  and  to  love  everything  according  to  the  eternal 
plan  of  God.  All  other  human  wisdoms  are  only 


THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL 109 

fragmentary  and  relative  expressions  of  true  wis- 
dom, which  are  frequently  abused  for  ruthless  and 
selfish  aims.  Of  this  unfortunate  fact  the  inwardly 
religious  soul  is  well  aware  and  accepts  nothing  that 
manifests  the  slightest  inconsistence  with  the  eternal 
plan  of  God.  Necessary  evils  exist  only  for  the  evil 
minded,  but  not  for  the  wise  and  righteous.  He 
neither  accepts  nor  defends  them.  He  combats  them 
with  all  the  power  of  his  conscience. 

Only  through  this  course  of  life  is  he  able  to  at- 
tain the  great  virtue  of  simplicity,  which  consists  in 
the  sincerity  of  will,  truthfulness  of  mind  and 
modesty  of  attitude. 

This  trinity  of  mental  dispositions  is  the  irrefut- 
able proof  of  the  worthiness  of  his  character  and 
intellect.  Everyone  with  any  degree  of  conscience 
always  looks  for  and  depends  on  the  sincerity,  truth- 
fulness and  modesty  of  him  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact.  And  nothing  fills  a  conscience  loving  soul 
with  more  abomination  than  insincerity,  falsehood 
and  boastfulness.  The  uprightness  and  rectitude  of 
the  human  character  can  be  easily  recognized  by  this 
unfailing  test  of  truth. 

The  inwardly  religious  man  never  allows  a  selfish 
motive  to  dominate  his  heart.  By  all  means  of  edu- 
cation and  experience  he  never  ceases  in  his  efforts 
to  attain  a  greater  content  of  sacrificial  sentiments. 


1 10  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

They  grow  with  him,  that  he  may  grow  on  them 
to  spiritual  greatness. 

Sacrifice  must  be  known  as  the  eternal  effluence  of 
Divine  life  and  it  must  be  loved  in  order  to  be 
known.  Conscience,  religion,  honor,  wisdom, 
righteousness  and  goodness  are  rooted  in  the  ground 
of  sacrifice. 

The  greatness  and  merit  of  the  individual  life  is 
invariably  judged  by  the  volume  of  its  sacrificial 
achievements,  and  the  littleness  and  unworthiness 
of  the  individual  life  is  always  measured  by  the  ab- 
sence of  these  same  sacrifices.  Justice  stands  on  the 
eternal  ground  of  sacrifice  and,  in  itself,  is  the  holy 
guardian  of  sacrificial  values. 

With  all  his  heart  the  inwardly  religious  man 
embraces  this  holy  guardianship,  whereby  the  worth- 
iness of  his  religious  character  is  maintained.  Under 
this  guardianship  he  progresses,  irrespective  of  all 
hindrances,  with  unflinching  courage,  to  the  gates 
of  eternal  life. 

Sacrifice  becomes  the  vision,  the  impulse  and 
sphere  of  his  life.  Then  all  he  does,  thinks  and  feels 
is  pure,  good  and  beautiful.  All  virtues  attained 
through  inward  humility  attain  the  manifest  form 
of  the  heavenly  power  of  goodness. 

Benevolence,  with  its  might  to  attract,  magna- 
nimity with  its  might  to  conquer,  earnestness  with  its 


THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  111 


power  of  conviction,  enthusiasm  with  its  power  of 
overwhelming,  and  spiritual  grace  and  beauty,  the 
incentives  of  pure  and  lasting  joy,  all  of  these  are 
given  by  God  to  the  truly  religious  soul,  that  the  like- 
ness of  God  in  the  soul  be  fulfilled. 

These  virtuous  forms  are  the  divine  paths  over 
which  humanity  is  slowly  climbing  to  greater  in- 
ward heights  and  this  labor  constitutes  the  immortal 
history  of  all  souls. 


THE  CULT  OF  GOD 

The  object  and  essence  of  worship  lies  in  the  holi- 
est attributes  of  God,  which,  in  themselves,  are  the 
absolutely  adorable  mights. 

Conscience,  being  the  holy  reflex  of  Divine  at- 
tributes, and,  in  itself,  the  superspiritual  subsistence 
of  the  soul,  clearly  reveals  the  inherent  plan  of  the 
worship  of  God. 

The  supremely  adorable  object  is  the  Holiness, 
Truth  and  Love  of  God. 

Holiness,  the  determining  might  of  God,  reveals 
His  majestic  oneness,  omnipotent  perfection  and 
superspiritual  eternity  as  His  determining  attributes. 
Consequently,  these  attributes  are  the  first  form  of 
worship. 

Truth,  the  visual  might  of  God,  reveals  His  crea- 
tive contemplation,  omniscient  predestination  and 
omnipresent  providence  as  His  visual  attributes. 
Hence,  these  attributes  are  the  second  form  of  Di- 
vine worship. 

Love,  the  sentimental  might  of  God,  reveals  sacri- 
ficial guidance,  charitable  justice  and  beatifying  and 
saving  goodness  as  His  sentimental  attributes.  Ac- 

112 


THE  CULT  OF  GOD 113 

cordingly,  these  attributes  constitute  the  third  form 
of  Divine  worship. 

These  forms  of  worship  are  neither  arbitrary  nor 
artificial.  They  are  strictly  logical,  as  is  evidenced  by 
their  intrinsic  order  and  conformity  with  the  soul's 
will,  mind  and  heart,  all  of  which  possess  adoring 
forces. 

All  other  forms  of  religious  worship  are  imperfect 
attempts  to  follow  this  holy  plan.  Because  they  are 
not  distinctly  grounded  on  the  eternal  forms  of  Di- 
vine Holiness,  Truth  and  Love,  they  obscure  the 
Face  of  God  with  anthropomorphic  estheticism  and 
make  religious  cults  more  human  than  divine. 

Traditions  have  succeeded  one  another,  each  with 
a  greater  or  less  content  of  the  religious  spirit,  but  if 
humanity  is  to  progress  onward,  all  human  tradi- 
tions, venerable  as  they  are,  must  be  superseded  by 
the  eternal  tradition  of  the  living  Voice  of  God  in 
the  soul. 

The  establishing  of  the  great  cult  of  God,  which 
all  serious  souls  expect  and  demand,  cannot  come 
too  soon.  On  its  coming  depends  the  great  progress 
of  humanity. 

Cults  of  wordly  riches,  vanity  and  sensuality  have 
always  made  debasing  inroads  on  the  weak  charac- 
ter of  man,  but  never  have  they  been  more  widely 
spread,  conspicuous  and  infectious  than  in  recent 


1_14 RELIGION  OF  THEjSOUU 

times.  So  long  as  these  base  and  destructive  cults 
continue  to  exist,  the  necessity  for  the  divine  cult  is 
all  the  more  evident. 

Moreover,  this  particular  necessity  is  supported 
by  the  logical  necessity  that  our  highest  aspirations 
and  efforts  must  have  a  collective  form  in  order  to 
prove  and  manifest  the  inward  conviction  of  our 
divine  childship  and  the  true  religious  brotherhood. 
No  race  is  excluded  from  and  no  social  and  in- 
tellectual distinction  is  made  in  this  cult.  The  ad- 
vantages are  equal  to  all. 

The  outer  forms  of  the  public  cult  consist  in 
praise,  offering,  invocation,  petition  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, expressed  in  solemn  and  simple  art. 

Religious  life  is  the  supreme  art  of  the  soul  and 
collective  expressions  ought  to  be  sublime,  impres- 
sive and  elevating.  The  greatest  immediate  need 
of  man  is  more  religious  profundity  and  elevation,  in 
order  to  be  moved  to  the  active  realization  of  his 
final  destiny,  consisting  in  the  participation  in  Di- 
vine glory,  might  and  beatitude. 


SACRAMENTAL  CONFESSION  OF  THE 
CHURCH  OF  GOD 

I  believe  in  the  Holiness,  Truth  and  Love  of 
God,  which  constitute  His  Divine  Superpersonality. 

I  believe  that  the  determining  might  of  the  Holi- 
ness of  God  is  absolute,  perfect  and  eternal,  and, 
therefore,  constitutes  the  supreme  majesty,  almighti- 
ness  and  superspirituality  of  God. 

I  believe  that  the  visual  might  of  the  Truth  of 
God  is  the  contemplating,  omniscient  and  omni- 
present light  of  His  Holiness,  and,  therefore,  con- 
stitutes the  holiest  plan  of  His  eternal  creation,  pre- 
destination and  providence. 

I  believe  that  the  sentimental  might  of  the  Love 
of  God  is  the  eternal  sacrifice,  charity  and  goodness, 
and,  therefore,  constitutes  the  holiest  revelation  of 
His  eternal  guidance,  justice  and  salvation. 

I  believe  that  conscience  is  the  eternal  and  formal 
reflex  of  Divine  attributes,  the  living  Voice  of  God 
and  the  immutable  ground  and  plan  of  the  soul. 

I  believe  that  conscience  is  the  superspiritual  form 
through  which  God  reveals  His  holiest  will,  the 
eternal  law  and  formal  commandment  of  virtuous 
life.  I  believe  that  the  soul's  forces  of  will,  intellect 

115 


116  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

and  sentiment  are  created  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fol- 
lowing, of  knowing  and  of  loving  God  as  our  eternal 
Creator,  Lord  and  Father. 

Therefore,  I  believe  in  our  affinity  and  allegiance 
to  God  and  in  the  imitation  of  God,  in  order  that  we 
may  participate  in,  cooperate  with  and  affirm  the 
eternal  grandeur  of  His  holiest  Life,  for  the  sake  of 
His  Holiness  and  our  sanctification,  for  the  sake 
of  His  Truth  and  our  truthfulness,  and  for  the  sake 
of  His  eternal  Love,  the  source,  sublimity  and  true 
joy  of  our  life. 

And  I  believe  in  the  virtue  of  humility,  consist- 
ing in  faith,  devotion  and  gratitude  to  God,  and 
in  the  virtues  of  fortitude,  beatitude,  divine  light, 
wisdom,  simplicity,  pure  love,  righteousness  and 
goodness,  as  the  sole  path  of  sanctification  and 
ascent  to  the  heavenly  life  of  glory,  light  and  beati- 
tude. 

So  help  me  God!    Amen. 


THE  DECALOG  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

Thou  shalt  love  God,  thy  eternal  Lord  and 
Father,  with  all  the  forces  of  thy  soul,  that  thou 
mayest  follow  His  holy  Will,  the  law  of  all  laws. 

Thou  shalt  praise  the  Holiness,  Truth  and  Love 
of  God  in  profound  humility,  through  faith,  devotion 
and  gratitude,  that  thou  mayest  be  worthy  of  the 
holy  gift  of  immortal  life. 

Thou  shalt  grow  in  fortitude  and  steadfastness, 
that  thy  duties  to  God  and  man  be  the  greatest  things 
in  life,  and  that  thou  mayest  be  ready  for  still 
greater  duties. 

Thou  shalt  live  in  purity,  trust  and  peace,  in  labor 
and  in  prayer,  that  thou  mayest  be  assured  of  salva- 
tion and  the  eternal  blessing  of  God. 

Thou  shalt  seek  for  the  truth  of  God,  that  thou 
mayest  see  His  eternal  light  which  leads  thee  to  thy 
holy  destiny. 

Thou  shalt  be  guided  by  wisdom  in  all  thy  deeds, 
in  all  thy  thoughts  and  in  all  thy  affections,  that 
thou  mayest  choose  the  worthiest  and  be  shielded 
against  sin,  error  and  the  temptations  of  evil. 

Thou  shalt  be  truthful  in  thy  whole  mind,  that 
117 


118 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

thy  conscience  be  not  defiled  by  falsehood  and 
that  truth  bear  witness  of  thy  integrity. 

Thou  shalt  follow  the  sacrificial  spirit  of  Divine 
Love,  that  thy  heart  be  pure  before  God,  with  love 
toward  mankind  and  benevolence  toward  lower 
creatures. 

Thou  shalt  be  ruled  by  justice  to  God  and  to 
each  living  being,  that  thou  mayest  be  justified  by 
heaven  and  by  earth  and  that  righteousness  be  thy 
eternal  crown  of  honor. 

Thou  shalt  fill  with  goodness  all  thy  motives,  all 
thy  thoughts  and  all  thy  longings,  that  nothing  un- 
worthy enter  thy  heart  and  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
be  thy  eternal  reward. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  SOUL 

All  men  know  passions  in  their  effects,  but  few 
know  the  real  source  of  passions. 

What  is  the  essential  meaning  of  "passion"  in  a 
religious  sense? 

Passions  are  the  sufferings  of  the  soul,  caused  by 
lack  of  godliness  and,  consequently,  they  are  the 
actual  opposition  to  virtues  and  the  real  evil  of  life. 

Being  the  exact  contradiction  of  virtues,  passions 
follow  the  same  logical  order,  although  in  the  nega- 
tive sense.  Thus  they  are  the  source  of  everything 
unholy,  untruthful,  and  selfish  and  of  all  human 
wretchedness. 

Following  the  order  of  virtues,  there  are  passions 
jf  the  "will,  of  the  mind  and  of  the  heart. 

PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL 
The  chief  passions  of  the  will  are  pride,  religious 
indolence  and  religious  misery. 

PRIDE 

What  constitutes  the  pride  of  the  soul? 

Pride  consists  in  the  attitude  of  more  or  less  active 
independence  from  God  and  His  holy  Voice.  It 

119 


120 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

is  the  first  act  of  faithlessness  to  God,  with  the  con- 
sequence of  faithlessness  to  man  and  other  creatures. 

Where  the  spiritual  power  of  unconditional  faith 
in  God  is  not  the  most  vital  function  of  our  life,  the 
assurance  of  faith  in  relative  beings  is  destroyed  at 
the  very  inception  of  its  power. 

Faith  constitutes  the  greatest  superspiritual  power 
of  the  soul  and  the  clear  proof  of  its  honorable 
tendency.  Therefore,  lack  of  faith  leads  to  low- 
mindedness  and  confusion,  and  the  denial  of  faith  to 
iniquity  and  crime.  Faithlessness  displaces  the  power 
of  esteem,  which  each  soul  ought  to  possess  in  its  in- 
wardness, and  fills  it  with  its  opposite,  the  destructive 
power  of  contempt. 

The  humble  man  has  a  living  faith  in  God.  The 
proud  man  has  a  living  faith  in  himself.  He  measures 
everything,  not  according  to  conscience,  but  accord- 
ing to  his  haughty  will,  with  its  narrow  visions  and 
heartlessness.  His  motive  power  is  not  that  of  respect 
but  of  contempt,  and  "under  me"  is  his  temper. 

Whether  his  station  be  high  or  low,  essentially 
he  is  the  real  anarchist  among  men.  The  history  of 
humanity  is  filled  with  such  characters,  and  every 
conceivable  condition,  religious,  political  and  social, 
is  the  field  of  their  ungodly  activity.  The  number 
of  these  men  exceeds  by  far  the  humble  and  vir- 
tuous souls,  hence  the  fact  that  sin  rules  our  world. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL  121 


Devotion  is  the  profound  and  soul-inspiring  power 
of  the  humble,  and  vanity  the  shallow  and  soul-be- 
sotting weakness  of  the  proud. 

The  proud  man  does  not  believe  in  building  an 
altar  for  the  worship  of  God  in  his  inwardness,  but 
he  believes  in  building  fleeting  altars  of  self-admira- 
tion and  self-indulgence.  He  does  not  search  for 
the  spiritual  incense  of  virtuous  inspiration,  but  for 
the  pomp  and  show  of  luxury,  with  which  he  may 
adorn  himself. 

He  has  no  sense  and  no  regard  for  great  virtuous 
manifestations,  for  there  is  nothing  virtuous  in  him 
that  is  worthy  of  such  manifestation.  And,  since 
the  tendency  to  the  manifestation  of  the  soul's  spir- 
itual content  is  inborn,  he  displays  the  achievements 
of  his  vanity,  with  greater  or  less  dissimulation. 

The  vain  man  is  sometimes  ashamed  of  his  ma- 
terial wealth,  yet  he  does  not  know  how  to  use  it 
to  the  advantage  of  immortal  honor.  By  continuous 
habit,  his  motives,  mind  and  heart  are  so  strongly 
attached  to  self-devotion,  that  with  the  loss  of  this 
infatuation  his  own  life  seems  lost.  He*  loves  ob- 
sequiousness and  flattery  so  much  that  he  cannot 
dispense  with  them  for  the  sake  of  divine  devotion, 
in  which  he  has  no  faith.  Esteem  is  a  demand  of 
conscience,  but  his  conscience  is  too  small  to  afford 
any  scope  for  rejoicing  in  virtuous  honor. 


122 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

In  addition  to  this  common  vanity,  are  the  subtle 
vanities  of  political,  financial  and  social  leadership, 
enhanced  by  material  means.  None  of  them,  as  we 
know,  depends  on  virtuous  principles  of  life. 

There  are  also  vanities  in  the  intellectual  and 
artistic  fields  which  strive  more  for  self-magnification 
and  glorification  or  mere  material  gain  than  for 
higher  aims.  It  is  true  that  this  form  of  vanity  is 
rarer  and  less  conspicuous  than  the  gross  vanity  dis- 
played by  material  power.  The  sensibility  of  intel- 
lectual and  artistic  dignity  is  a  restraint  against  pas- 
sions. It  is  for  this  reason  that  literature  and  art  have 
given  the  absolute  majority  of  honorable  characters. 

Moreover,  and  contradictory  as  it  seems,  many 
religious  creeds  are  as  vain  and  proud  as  the  rest  of 
our  world.  "We  are  the  chosen  people!"-  -"Our 
creed  is  the  only  true  creed!"-  -"Our  sacraments 
are  indispensable  to  attain  heaven!" — And  now 
more  timidly  "All  the  rest  of  men  are  damned!" 
are  the  ungodly  expressions  of  those  who  pretend  to 
teach  the  word  of  God.  Of  all  the  vanities,  this 
vanity  is  the  most  dangerous,  because  it  perverts  re- 
ligious truth  at  its  very  roots  and  causes  more  so- 
called  atheists  than  all  natural  sciences  put  together. 

Gratitude  is  the  immortal  effluence  of  the  self- 
sentiency  of  divine  childship,  while  ingratitude  is  the 
logical  effect  of  self-centered  and  self-devoted  pride. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL 123 

For  what  should  the  godless  soul  be  grateful? 
He  does  not  know  whence  he  came,  or  why  he  ex- 
ists, and  cares  little  for  such  knowledge.  His  belief 
in  personal  immortality  is  uncertain  and,  hence,  im- 
mortal responsibility  is  still  less  certain,  and  of  little 
or  no  interest  to  him.  Intrinsically  fatalistic  in  his 
mentality  and  sentiments,  he  believes  more  in  ac- 
cidents or  mere  facts  than  in  laws.  And,  if  he  be- 
lieves in  laws,  it  is  more  for  the  sake  of  his  external 
safety  than  because  of  gratitude. 

In  his  obscured  mentality  he  does  not  discriminate 
between  superspiritual,  spiritual  and  natural  laws, 
each  of  which  constitutes  such  a  distinct  and  vital 
part  of  our  life.  Everything  is  "nature"  and  "nat- 
ural" to  him,  a  sort  of  a  vague  fatalistic  generation. 
Moreover,  to  him  all  sublime  things  in  life  are  not 
realities  but  mere  ideals,  at  which,  without  individual 
effort  or  responsibility,  our  world  may  eventually 
arrive. 

This  characterization  does  not  pertain  merely  to 
educated  naturalistic  radicals  but  to  humanity  at 
large.  The  average  man  has  more  intense  faith  in 
and  devotion  to  nature,  than  faith  in  and  devotion 
to  God.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  satisfy  the  undiscrim- 
inating,  cloudy  and  irresponsible  human  spirit  with 
natural  effects,  even  at  the  loss  of  virtuous  values. 

In  the  proud  soul  there  is  no  substantial  ground 


124  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

for  profound  and  life-permeating  responsibility  and 
consequent  gratitude.  Yet  he  may  casually  feel 
gratitude  to  the  one  who  serves  his  personal  ambi- 
tions, only  to  dismiss  and  forget  him  when  another 
renders  greater  service  to  his  selfish  plans. 

Human  gratitude  oscillates  according  to  the  in- 
tensity of  personal  satisfaction.  Few  are  grateful  for 
material  assistance  and  still  fewer  for  spiritual  help, 
which  is  the  greatest  help  in  our  life.  Workers  in 
behalf  of  profit  are  more  readily  followed  than 
workers  in  behalf  of  the  spirit,  who  may  be  dis- 
tantly respected  but  rarely  loved.  The  power  of 
gratitude,  which,  in  the  will,  is  the  main  motive 
power  of  sacrifice,  is  absent. 

The  virtuous  man  delights  in  gratitude,  but  to  the 
proud  it  is  a  burden  and  a  mortification.  He  fears 
to  lower  his  captious  honor  by  honoring  a  truly 
honorable  deed.  Surely,  where  gratitude  does  not 
flow  with  full  power  from  the  holy  source  of  divine 
faith  and  devotion,  its  action  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  brief,  timid  and  ineffective,  in  any  bond  of 
friendship  and  human  sympathy. 

Nothing  is  more  sympathetic  than  a  living  grati- 
tude, and  nothing  more  unsympathetic  than  ingrati- 
tude. The  virtuous  soul  works  for  the  sake  of 
gratitude,  as  an  indispensable  power  of  his  dignity. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL 125 

The  unvirtuous  shuns  this  holy  work  with  the  super- 
cilious excuse  that  all  men  are  ungrateful. 

RELIGIOUS  INDOLENCE 

Fortitude  is  the  virtue  which  sustains  the  energy 
for  sanctification,  for  perseverance  in  holy  life,  and 
which  imparts  triumph  over  evil. 

The  unvirtuous  man  has  no  interest  in  sanctifica- 
tion, hence  all  his  energies  are  applied  to  purely 
selfish  aims,  to  unrestrained  independence  and  the 
power  of  ruling  others  by  his  will.  "The  will  to 
power"  is  his  sole  aim  and  motive. 

Lacking  faith  in  and  devotion  and  gratitude  to 
God,  he  strives  with  all  the  power  of  his  psychic 
forces  to  lift  himself  above  the  servile  and  helpless 
masses,  for  the  sake  of  mere  gain  and  vanity. 

The  Voice  of  God  is  of  little  or  no  concern  to 
him,  except  as  expressed  in  publicly  established  laws, 
which  he  frequently  circumvents.  He  appreciates  the 
spirit  of  law  for  the  compulsion  of  others,  but  not 
for  himself.  His  will  is  obstinately  set  for  dishonor- 
able self-gratification.  Vanity  and  lust  are  his 
greatest  delights. 

On  those  who  thwart  his  will  be  wreaks  ven- 
geance. Having  faith  only  in  his  ego,  devoted  to  his 
personal  lusts  and  with  no  religious  sense  of  honor, 


126  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

one  can  easily  imagine  his  corrupting  character.  Re- 
ligiously indolent  and  irreligiously  active,  substitut- 
ing his  little  voice  for  the  Voice  of  God,  such  a 
man,  irrespective  of  confessional  pretenses,  is  the  real 
atheist  and  the  cause  and  abetter  of  all  moral  and 
social  anarchy. 

While  perseverance  in  virtue  is  followed  by  a 
gradual  uplift  of  the  soul  to  holy  life,  the  obstinate 
and  capricious  activity  of  the  unvirtuous  soul  mani- 
fests more  and  more  clearly  the  utter  lack  of  the 
religious  substance  of  honor,  highmindedness  and 
frankness.  His  assumed  honor  is  staged  artificially 
by  external  display.  There  is  a  selfish  bargain  in 
every  mental  process  and  a  disguised  motive  in  every 
aim. 

Lofty  deeds,  righteous  thoughts  and  loving  kind- 
ness are  displaced  by  selfish  stratagems,  artifices  and 
a  casual  comfortable  generosity.  What  kind  of 
leadership  can  humanity  expect  if  the  time  and 
means  of  their  accepted  leaders  are  not  employed 
for  the  installation  of  the  highest  principles  of  life? 

Surely,  there  are  in  this  class  many  well  meaning 
men,  who  would  be  happy  to  aid  in  the  establish- 
ment of  better  human  conditions,  but  they  have  no 
character  of  virtuous  fortitude.  All  their  organized 
efforts  have  a  selfish  aim.  And  the  masses,  learning 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL  127 


more  by  imitation  than  by  other  means,  are  infected 
by  this  spirit  of  religious  indolence,  which  is  the 
most  prolific  ground  for  hate  and  vengeance. 

Thus,  instead  of  rising  through  the  virtuous  tri- 
umph over  the  evil,  humanity  is  reaping  helplessness, 
its  logical  antithesis. 

It  is  inherent  in  the  power  of  the  will  to  attain, 
through  personal  conquest,  the  will's  inmost  life  and 
joy.  If  the  conquest  is  not  virtuous,  it  must,  regard- 
less of  all  extenuation,  be  wicked.  There  is  no  al- 
ternative. 

Wickedness  is  the  most  insidious  force,  the  most 
deceitful  condition,  and  the  most  thoroughly  con- 
cealed liar  of  the  soul  and,  consequently,  the  con- 
temner  of  divine  laws,  and  pride  in  its  true  garb. 

Accordingly,  if  there  is  no  virtue  in  the  soul, 
wickedness  becomes  rampant,  and  it  is  more  through 
sheer  defense  against  wickedness  than  through  al- 
legiance to  the  laws  of  God  that  humanity  sustains 
its  weak  fabric  of  laws.  Not  only  is  this  terrible  fact 
proved  by  the  protective  spirit  of  our  legal  institu- 
tions but  also  by  the  fact  that  almost  every  stranger 
we  meet  is  regarded  more  with  suspicion  than  with 
confidence.  This  fear  of  wickedness  is  the  con- 
sequence of  our  unvirtuous  state  and  plainly  in- 
dicates the  necessity  for  the  war  on  all  evil. 


128  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

The  individual  soul  is  the  ground  of  all  battles. 
All  virtuous  means  must  be  employed  for  this  con- 
quest. And  the  only  effective  and  lasting  means  is 
fortitude  and  perseverance  in  the  allegiance  to  the 
Voice  of  God,  the  sole  might  of  virtuous  life. 

No  one  fears  a  man  with  a  great  conscience,  for 
it  is  known  everywhere  that  he  is  the  only  one  who 
can  be  implicitly  trusted,  and  that  the  best  help 
comes  from  him  who  faithfully  and  simply  represents 
the  divine  spirit  in  his  soul. 

SPIRITUAL  MISERY 

The  logical  contradiction  of  the  virtue  of  beati- 
tude is  spiritual  misery,  which  manifests  itself 
through  insecurity,  unrest  and  infelicity. 

How  can  a  spiritual  being  feel  secure  without  a 
profoundly  grounded  faith  in  and  devotion  and 
gratitude  to  the  superspiritual  source  of  his  life, 
which  is  God? 

How  can  a  will  be  powerful  and  firm  without  the 
title  of  divine  childship?  The  title  of  the  unvirtuous 
soul  is  his  own  will  and  almost  everybody  claims  the 
right  to  this  title.  Hence  the  field  for  strife  is  always 
prepared  by  willful  men. 

Their  conception  of  security  consists  in  despoiling 
others  by  legal  or  illegal  means,  in  order  to  obtain 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL  129 


that  security  which  is  common  to  all  rapacious  ani- 
mals. Their  whole  mentality  runs  in  underground 
channels  of  cunning,  unable  to  lift  its  eyes  to  the 
sun  of  conscience.  Conscience  is  no  more  a  security 
than  is  holiness.  Neither  is  believed  in  by  them. 
Their  hearts  are  not  vessels  of  sacrificial  love,  as 
God  demands,  but  gaudy  nests  for  themselves  and 
their  intimate  associates. 

The  providential  history  of  Divine  operation  has 
always  ground  these  fortresses  of  human  selfishness 
and  heartlessness  into  dust,  but  the  proud  being  never 
learns.  He  fears  everything,  man,  animals,  his  own 
shadow  and  the  very  thought  of  Divine  justice. 

Thus  imbued  with  this  cowardly  spirit,  without 
trust  in  God  and  no  trust  in  man,  and  restless  through 
the  lack  of  religious  security,  he  continues  to  chase 
after  the  fleeting  idols  of  his  unvirtuous  imagina- 
tion until  the  end  of  his  earthly  days. 

How  happy  he  would  be  could  he  only  substitute 
some  of  his  past  intentions  for  many  of  his  past 
deeds!  How  restful  and  contented  he  would  feel! 
Others  do  not  even  have  that  much  feeling  of  re- 
pentance. They  consciously  have  nothing  to  repent. 
To  them  life  is  a  mere  natural  fact  which  is  fateful 
in  its  very  nature  and  such  is  their  death.  Immortal 
responsibility  often  lurks  in  their  minds,  but  is  never 
admitted  into  their  hearts.  To  such  souls  death 


130        RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL        _ 

is  a  disaster  and  life  a  patent  nonsense.  They  live 
in  order  to  die. 

The  happiness  of  unvirtuous  souls  consists  in  pas- 
sions for  vain  ambitions,  greed  and  lust,  none  of 
which  can  be  satisfied  without  violation  of  con- 
science. And  they  are  fully  conscious  that  this  sort  of 
happiness  is  as  brief  as  is  its  dishonorable  motive. 

Not  having  any  divine  interest  in  his  heart,  the 
passionate  being  longs  for  material  and  physical  in- 
toxication, and,  instead  of  devoting  his  life  to  the 
highest  spiritual  dignity,  he  bows  down  to  the  low- 
est animal  indulgence,  and,  for  the  fleeting  morsels 
of  external  joy,  reaps  self-condemnation,  bitterness 
and  despair,  the  logical  consequence  of  unvirtuous 
conduct. 

The  testaments  of  great  souls  never  vanish.  They 
constitute  the  indestructible  testimony  of  the  might 
of  conscience,  by  virtue  of  which  humanity  is  slowly 
rising  from  its  spiritual  misery.  They  have  left  en- 
lightenment and  encouragement  to  godly  life  and, 
above  all,  the  example  of  sacrifice  and  the  spirit  of 
eternal  beatitude,  which  they  have  sealed  with  their 
lives. 

The  testaments  of  the  worldly  mighty  have  all 
vanished  and  owing  to  their  ungodly  spirit  always 
do  and  must  vanish  without  leaving  the  slightest  trace 
of  gratitude  behind  them. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  WILL 131 

Religious  misery  is  the  direct  result  of  our  sinful 
state,  of  faithlessness,  impiousness  and  ingratitude  to 
God.  A  spirit  closely  bound  to  earth  is  unable. to  lift 
itself  to  divine  spheres.  The  yoke  which  holds  it  to 
the  earthly  level  is  its  own  conscienceless  will,  and 
regardless  of  all  grumbling  and  cavilling,  it  has  only 
itself  to  blame. 

In  each  moment  of  his  life  man's  inward  attitude 
is  the  outcome  of  his  self-chosen  aims.  He  always 
is  what  he  wants  to  be. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND 

The  habitual  practice  of  pride  darkens  the  con- 
science and  intellect  of  the  soul.  Without  the  clear 
light  of  God,  it  sees  little  or  nothing  of  the  holy, 
true  and  lovable  purpose  of  universal  life.  It  sees 
merely  its  own  selfish  sentimental  and  material  inter- 
est and  perceives  its  own  ego  as  the  outstanding  fact 
in  the  midst  of  a  vast,  mysterious  world. 

The  three  distinct  passions  of  this  state  are  con- 
ceit, ignorance  and  duplicity. 

CONCEIT 

Egocentric  in  his  will,  the  unvirtuous  soul  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  egocentric  in  his  mind,  for  thoughts 
always  follow  the  tendency  of  the  will. 

It  is  true  that  desire  is  the  father  of  our  thoughts, 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  the  will  is  the  maker  of 
all  desires.  Desires  are  the  effectual  and  not  the 
original  power  of  the  soul.  It  is  precisely  this 
psychological  fact  which  the  unvirtuous  soul  is 
loath  to  acknowledge,  for  this  fact  spells  innate  re- 
sponsibility for  all  our  sentiments. 

In  order  to  avoid  this  psychological  fact,  logically 
so  true  and  practically  so  patent,  the  tortuous  mind 

132 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND  1 33 

of  man  invents  all  possible  and  impossible  theories, 
extenuations  and  palliations  in  order  to  escape  the 
innate  responsibility  for  the  God-given  dignity  of 
our  divine  childship. 

The  soul  is  essentially  a  religious  being  and  each 
man  of  honor  ought  to  engrave  this  most  rational  truth 
in  his  mind  with  flaming  letters.  It  is  the  lack  of  the 
vision  and  sense  of  responsibility  to  God  and  every 
creature  which  causes  all  wickedness  and  the  ap- 
palling conceit  and  blindness  of  man. 

Conceit  is  blindness  in  relation  to  the  light  of 
God.  Where  the  soul  is  determined  to  be  inde- 
pendent from  the  Will  of  God,  it  cannot  be  de- 
pendent from  the  light  of  God.  Since  the  soul  must 
have  some  light  for  its  vision,  it  takes  its  own  limited 
reason  as  the  infallible  standard  of  views  without 
responsibility  to  God. 

Conceit  lies  mainly  in  the  irresponsibility  of 
thought.  Indeed,  the  conceited  being  wants  respon- 
sibility for  others,  but  not  for  himself.  He  does  not 
love  responsibility  as  the  great,  underlying  power  of 
our  mutual  relations,  except  when  it  favors  his  selfish 
aim. 

This  passion  indicates  clearly  the  reason  for 
human  falsehoods,  for  falsehood  is  the  logical  course 
of  pride  in  the  mental  attitude  of  the  independent, 
self-centered  will. 


1 34  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Due  to  this  cause,  human  visions  in  all  fields  of 
knowledge  are  prejudiced  and  confused.  Dogmas 
battle  with  dogmas  and  philosophical  theories,  which 
again  combat  dogmas  and  other  theories.  And 
political,  social  and  experimental  sciences  are  in  a 
continuous  vortex  of  perplexity. 

In  this  spiritual  fermentation- is  more  conceit  and 
assumed  authority  than  truth  and  love.  This  strife 
itself  plainly  indicates  the  unholy  motive  of  those 
who  claim  to  be  'the  heralds  of  truth.  In  each  direc- 
tion conceit  rends  apart  every  better  effort,  because 
blindness  is  essentially  discord. 

Everybody  speaks  of  principles,  causes  and  aims, 
but  only  a  few  take  these  important  terms  into  seri- 
ous consideration.  These  terms  are  not  often  ap- 
plied to  the  dignity  and  aim  of  our  life,  but  merely 
to  selfish  ends. 

The  principles  of  conscience  and  honor  are  neither 
taught  nor  known  in  any  creed  or  theory  of  morals. 
Yet  is  there  anything  more  important  in  our  whole 
life  than  these  two  divine  factors? 

Without  a  highly  educated  conscience  and  honor 
we  cannot  but  remain  blind  to  the  sublimity  of  our 
spiritual  inwardness  and  the  true  knowledge  of  life. 
Eliminate  the  will  to  holiness,  the  mind  to  truth  and 
the  heart  to  love,  and  what  remains  of  the  human 
being?  An  unspeakable  horror. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND  1 35 


We  do  not  need  to  reach  back  into  history  for 
human  horrors.  We  have  them  before  us  now.  And 
what  is  the  cause?  Wickedness  of  will  and  conceit 
and  blindness  of  mind,  due  to  ruthless  pride  and 
religious  ignorance. 

Divine  light  needs  no  historical  dogmas  for  its 
support.  On  the  contrary,  creeds  need  the  support 
of  divine  light.  The  fact  that  they  became  so  unin- 
spiring proves  their  lack  of  divine  light.  Were  the 
creeds  as  true  as  they  all  claim  to  be,  all  denomina- 
tional disputes  and  hostilities  would  vanish  and  the 
most  inspiring  revival  of  religion  which  humanity  has 
ever  witnessed  would  take  place  on  this  earth. 

But  to  accomplish  this  world-reforming  task  will 
require  far  more  self-denial,  a  profounder  spirit  of 
truth,  an  elimination  of  prejudices,  a  greater  vitality 
of  virtuous  life  and  above  all  a  greater  heart  than  is 
possessed  by  the  majority  of  those  who  preach  the 
various  gospels  of  religion.  Only  then  will  the  true 
reformation  of  mankind  take  place. 

RELIGIOUS  IGNORANCE 

As  wisdom  is  the  course  of  our  practical  activity 
according  to  divine  light  and  conscience,  thus  ignor- 
ance is  the  course  of  the  practical  activity  according 
to  conceit  and  religious  blindness. 


1 36  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

What  worth  have  deeds,  thoughts  and  sentiments 
which  have  no  intrinsic  and  permanent  relation  to 
our  religious  destiny?  There  is  a  striking  irration- 
ality in  the  whole  human  system.  Religious  lead- 
ers are  conspicuously  discordant  among  themselves. 
Political  leaders  are  still  more  discordant  and  al- 
ways intent  on  material  gain  and  vain  ambition. 
Statesmen  and  legislators  with  great  hearts  and  con- 
sciences are  as  rare  as  great  prophets.  The  rich  hold 
firmly  to  their  legally  privileged  station  and,  dis- 
dainful of  the  masses,  enjoy  themselves  according  to 
their  own  fancies,  as  if  there  were  no  God,  no  con- 
science and  no  self-respect  on  this  earth.  The  poor, 
who  comprise  the  masses  of  humanity,  live  in  ig- 
norance, helplessness  and  misery,  crying  to  God  for 
mercy  or  threatening  the  temporary  owners  of  this 
world  with  vengeance.  And  the  few  with  virtuous 
insight  are  the  voices  in  the  wilderness.  This  is  the 
image  of  our  present  world. 

True,  this  image  has  always  been  thus  and  has 
never  undergone  a  radical  change  save  in  one  sig- 
nificant development.  The  spirit  of  vengeance  is 
becoming  more  strongly  organized.  This  spirit  may 
cause  the  destruction  of  our  modern  civilization,  un- 
less a  heavenly  ray  of  divine  light  inspires  the  small 
group  of  nobler  souls  to  avert  the  greatest  calamity 
which  has  ever  threatened  the  human  family. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND  137 

Fortunes  are  spent  daily  on  every  possible  whim 
but  not  for  the  education  of  the  human  character. 
Educational  institutions  teach  everything  except  the 
necessary  attainment  of  religious  worthiness.  And 
the  average  man  strives  and  thinks  without  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  his  real  destiny. 

Can  one  imagine  a  more  absurd  situation?  Does 
not  conscience  tell  us  that  this  situation  should  not  be 
tolerated?  Yet,  where  ignorance  and  not  the  light 
of  God  in  conscience  is  the  leader  in  our  inward- 
ness, we  are  unable  to  live  any  other  life  than  that 
of  sheer  absurdity. 

How  big  the  proud  man  considers  himself  in  the 
moment  of  his  success  and  how  that  bigness  deflates 
during  his  disappointment  or  in  the  last  hours  of 
his  earthly  life.  He  never  thinks  in  terms  of  eternity 
and,  like  every  fool,  strives  only  for  momentary  suc- 
cess. 

How  helpless  is  the  tiller  of  the  soil  or  the  worker 
in  the  factory.  Everything  that  technical  skill  can 
furnish  is  provided  to  increase  the  productive  ef- 
ficiency of  his  muscles,  with  too  little  provision 
for  the  higher  efficiency  of  his  life.  What  is  the 
purport  of  his  labor?  Is  it  merely  the  sustenance  of 
his  bodily  needs?  This  would  place  him  on  a  par 
with  animals,  who  labor  only  to  supply  their  im- 
mediate physical  wants. 


1 38  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


We  are  told  that  fields  and  factories  are  not 
educational  institutions.  If  they  are  not  educational, 
what  are  they?  Is  not  labor  ennobling  and  idleness 
degrading  ?  Why  is  the  ultimate  motive  and  purpose 
of  labor  not  made  clear  in  our  factory  organizations? 
Because  there  is  no  godly  purpose  in  these  establish- 
ments. The  beneficial  effect  of  such  establishments 
derives  more  from  providential  conditions  than  from 
the  good  motives  of  men. 

The  stronger  rarely  makes  it  the  issue  of  his  life 
to  help  his  weaker  brethren.  Ignorant,  through  pride 
and  conceit,  he  fails  in  his  destiny.  He  fails  to  build 
better  human  relations  and  to  reap  immortal  honor 
and  gratitude. 

Ignorance  is  the  result  of  ignoring  conscience  and 
no  soul  is  released  from  the  responsibility  for  its  con- 
sequences. 

DUPLICITY 

Simplicity  is  the  last  virtue  of  the  high  mentality 
of  the  virtuous  soul  and  duplicity  the  passion  of  the 
low  mentality  of  the  unvirtuous  soul.  Its  specific 
features  are  insincerity,  untruthfulness  and  immod- 
esty of  attitude. 

How  is  it  possible  for  a  man  without  a  living  religi- 
ous faith,  devotion  and  gratitude,  which  means, 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND  139 


without  the  religious  bond  of  lofty  and  pure  mental- 
ity, to  be  sincere? 

Not  being  faithfully  attached  to  the  light  of  God 
and  religious  wisdom,  he  cannot  see  sincerity  as  the 
necessary  manifestation  of  his  good  will.  Thus,  in 
order  to  cover  the  weakness  of  his  will,  he  employs 
affectation,  speciousness  and  cautious  reserve.  He 
seldom  asks  a  direct  question  or  gives  a  direct  an- 
swer. His  whole  mentality  is  crooked,  tortuous  and 
confused. 

His  motives  are  timid  and  insensitive  with  regard 
to  good  actions  and  rather  alert  to  everything  com- 
mon or  low.  Hence  the  usual  manifestation  of  sus- 
picion instead  of  trust  and  faith. 

His  energy  for  the  good  being  small  or  wholly 
absent,  the  insincere  man  lives  on  motives  of  self-de- 
fense, just  as  all  animals  do.  The  plan  of  holy  life 
never  enters  his  mind  and,  being  inwardly  distrust- 
ful, owing  to  lack  of  religious  faith,  he  trusts  nobody 
and  nothing  except  his  will  to  attain  an  immediate, 
transient  aim.  If  he  fails  in  this  selfish  trust,  which 
so  frequently  happens,  his  distrust  becomes  deeper 
and  more  firmly  entrenched. 

Sincerity  is  practically  the  good,  open  will,  as 
God  wants  us  to  be,  and  insincerity  the  exact  reverse. 
The  sincere  soul  has  nothing  to  conceal,  even  if  it 
has  sinned.  We  are  all  sinners. 


140  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL      _ 

This  fateful  state  ought  to  bind  us  with  all  the 
more  mutual  compassion  and  help.  We  need  more 
encouragement,  enlightenment  and  inspiration  than 
condemnation.  But  only  men  with  great  sincerity  of 
religious  character  are  able  to  infuse  into  humanity 
these  heavenly  powers. 

Sincerity  or  insincerity  constitute  the  first  test  of 
man's  character  and  the  second  test  is  truthfulness  or 
untruthfulness.  In  these  two  unconcealable  mani- 
festations each  soul  lays  bare  the  power  or  the 
weakness  of  its  character. 

Sincerity  is  the  volitional  and  truthfulness  the 
mental  expression  of  the  virtuous  character,  while 
insincerity  is  the  volitional  and  untruthfulness  the 
mental  expression  of  the  unvirtuous  character. 

Truthfulness  always  follows  sincerity  and  untruth- 
fulness  insincerity.  The  insincere  motive  may  be 
more  or  less  cleverly  concealed,  but  never  can  un- 
truthfulness. For  this  reason  the  cunning  mind  of 
the  untruthful  is  always  prone  to  indistinct  and  two- 
sided  statements,  that,  in  the  event  of  exposure,  there 
may  remain  a  loop  hole  of  escape  from  the  indict- 
ment of  malice. 

This  practice  in  human  life  is  too  common  to  need 
further  explanation.  Yet,  when  we  consider  its 
presence  in  the  structure  of  religious  doctrines  and 
in  international  and  social  covenants,  we  must  not 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND  141 


wonder  that  humanity  has  no  faith  in  what  it  is 
taught  to  believe. 

Humanity  is  faithless  because  those  who  should 
lead  us  to  truth  and  give  the  living  example  of  truth- 
fulness are  themselves  either  powerless  or  unwilling 
to  believe  in  truth.  They  are  not  virtuous  as  leaders 
ought  to  be.  How  can  we  expect  sincere  devotion 
from  mankind  to  ideals  which  benefit  more  the  few 
than  the  many? 

Truthfulness  is  the  ideal  bond  of  esteem  and  love, 
and  untruth  fulness  is  the  disruption  of  this  bond. 
Untruthfulness  is  a  living  lie,  a  crime  against  God 
and  man,  the  denial  of  each  righteous  expectation 
and  the  breeding  source  of  all  disasters.  It  is  the  dis- 
regard of  holy  testimony  which  causes  the  character- 
istic of  deceit  so  common  to  all  cunning  brutes.  It 
creeps  into  all  human  relations,  into  all  stations  of 
life,  and  even  vaunts  its  cleverness. 

In  his  irreligious  ignorance,  the  passionate  soul 
realizes  neither  the  terrible  dishonor  of  false  and 
evasive  statements  nor  the  fact  that  all  crimes  begin 
with  a  lie.  The  untruthful  standpoint  toward  God 
can  bear  no  other  fruit. 

The  last  expression  of  the  passion  of  duplicity  is 
the  immodesty  of  the  soul's  inward  attitude. 

Being  detached  from  the  eternal  principle  of  Di- 
vine holiness,  truth  and  love,  one  can  easily  imagine 


142 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

the  fate  which  befalls  the  unvirtuous  man.  Floating 
on  the  restless  waves  of  passion,  the  boastful  man 
vaunts  himself,  that  others  may  see  and  admire  his 
position  and  his  attainments.  But  when  submerged 
in  the  depths  and  buried  by  the  never-ceasing  volume 
of  nameless  other  passions,  he  cries  to  God  for  mercy 
or  to  man  for  help. 

This  is  the  inward  image  of  the  boastful  man. 
He  is  always  immodest  in  success  and  correspond- 
ingly dejected  in  failure  or  disappointment  in  the 
pursuit  of  idols.  There  is  no  virtuous  weight  to  his 
will,  no  balance  to  his  mind,  and  his  sentiment,  bored 
by  its  own  emptiness,  flutters  from  one  external 
thing  to  another. 

Where  the  soul's  spiritual  forces  are  not  closely 
allied  with  the  Voice  of  God  and  where  His  holi- 
ness, truth  and  love  are  not  the  eternal  types  of  our 
life,  man  conceives  all  sorts  of  pitiful  types  of 
human  vanity,  hypocrisy,  arrogance  and  shameless- 
ness,  the  destroyers  of  the  sublime  sense  of  divine 
adoration. 

The  boastful  man  always  lays  bare  the  barren- 
ness of  his  proud  and  empty  soul,  the  hypocrite 
his  sanctimonious  artificiality,  the  arrogant  his  rude- 
ness, and  the  shameless  the  total  absence  of  inward 
honor.  Sham  is  the  intrinsic  tendency  of  each  pas- 
sion, and  it  cannot  fail  to  delude  itself. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  MIND  143 

Consequently,  no  man  is  so  greatly  mortified  as 
he  who  suffers  the  consequences  of  his  immodest 
attitude  and  standpoint  of  life.  His  self-made 
heaven  has  disappeared.  His  purchased  friends 
have  gone.  The  bright  world  of  his  selfish  optimism 
becomes  dark.  His  dull  mind  broods  and  sees  noth- 
ing but  the  crushing  of  all  his  hopes  and  sentiments. 

Fortunate  is  he  who,  in  this  fearful  extremity,  can 
raise  his  voice  to  God  and  plead  for  mercy.  But 
the  unvirtuous  soul  is  often  so  full  of  falsehood 
that  he  rather  gives  himself  to  despair  than  seeks 
for  the  gate  of  repentance  and  rehabilitation.  He 
blames  everybody  and  everything  except  himself. 
Even  now  he  does  not  permit  conscience  to  speak 
to  him,  for  he  knows  that  conscience  is  true  and 
that  he  is  not  true.  He  feels  what  he  has  never  felt 
before,  his  torturing  unimportance,  and  often  resorts 
to  suicide  as  his  sole  deliverance. 

The  supreme  law  of  God  for  man  is  divine  child- 
ship,  and  this  means  to  be  inwardly  humble,  true 
and  full  of  love.  Religious  simplicity  of  character 
is  the  affirmation  of  divine  childship,  and  duplicity 
its  denial. 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART 

The  heart  is  the  spiritual  vessel  in  which  all 
habitual  determinations  are  placed  and  kept  as  the 
fruitional  achievement  of  the  will  and  the  intrinsic 
property  of  the  soul.  The  life  of  the  will  consists 
in  living  on  its  own  sentiments,  because  these  con- 
stitute its  real  wealth  or  poverty  and  the  power  and 
flavor  of  its  being. 

The  heart  is  the  infallible  image  of  the  soul's 
inwardness,  in  which  image  is  engraven  the  truthful 
record  of  its  good  or  evil  sentiments.  No  step  or 
thought  is  taken  without  the  soul's  heart.  Instinct, 
impulse,  aspiration,  all  of  these  come  from  the  heart, 
which  burns  like  a  spiritual  furnace. 

Sentiments  are  the  heat  of  spiritual  life,  but  it  is 
the  self-conscious  will  that  produces  the  spiritual 
heat.  Some  sentiments  incline  toward  a  certain 
object  with  more  intensity  than  others,  for  the  will, 
by  continuous  habit  of  its  determination  in 'a  par- 
ticular direction,  makes  them  more  intense. 

Thus  each  soul  is  responsible  for  its  sentimental 
complex  as  well  as  for  the  intensity  or  passiveness 
of  each  particular  sentiment. 

144 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART 145 

The  soul  has  the  freedom  to  choose  such  senti- 
ments as  it  desires  to  possess.  Associations  merely 
influence  the  sentimentality  of  spiritual  beings,  but 
they  have  no  compulsive  or  coercive  power.  The 
will  is  intrinsically  free.  It  cannot  be  compelled 
without  its  own  consent.  Environments  are  only 
conditions  for  expressing  its  freedom. 

There  are  three  cardinal  passions  in  the  evil  sen- 
timental complex  of  the  soul;  hate,  unrighteous- 
ness and  selfishness. 


HATE 

Hate  is  the  spiritual  opposite  of  love. 

Love  consists  in  adoring  the  might  and  truth  of 
worthiness  and  of  the  profound  desire  to  possess 
worthiness,  while  hate  lives  on  uncontrolled  con- 
tempt, irrespective  of  actual  conditions  and  without 
any  sense  and  aim  of  worthiness.  In  other  words, 
love  constitutes  the  sacrificial  tendency  of  worthiest 
adoration,  consisting  in  the  constant  willingness  to 
offer  its  sentiments  to  the  highest,  the  holiest  and 
the  truest  reality  of  life. 

Hate  has  no  such  purpose.  Proud,  self-willed 
and  self-centered  in  its  determination,  and  conceited 
and  assuming  in  its  mentality,  all  that  it  wants  is 
independent  self-assertion.  Hate  is  the  spirit  of 


146  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

vanity,  of  self-contemplation,  self-indulgence  and  of 
the  scorn  of  and  apathy  toward  everything  above 
its  unworthy  standpoint. 

Hating  souls  are  out  of  all  bonds  of  allegiance 
to  holiness,  truth  and  love,  and  the  fact  that  many 
crimes  and  sins  are  committed  in  moments  of  hate 
proves  the  absence  of  these  holy  bonds. 

Hate  is  full  of  falsehood,  because  its  very  sen- 
timent is  false.  It  "never  estimates  men  or  facts 
according  to  the  Divine  law  of  love  and  conscience, 
but  according  to  the  degree  of  the  intensity  of 
strictly  personal  feeling  and  the  habit  of  its  pride. 

Thus  it  always  exaggerates  the  faults  of  others 
in  order  to  inflate  its  own  vanity.  It  criticizes  and 
cavils  without  constructive  intentions  and  belittles 
or  forgets  the  merits  of  others  in  order  to  avoid  the 
acknowledgment  of  its  own  baseness.  It  is  always 
noisy  and  destructive  in  its  motive,  and,  conscious 
of  the  great  weakness  of  the  human  character,  it 
makes  use  of  this  weakness  for  its  own  ends. 

Like  an  infectious  pestilence,  hate  penetrates 
religious  denominations,  nations,  classes,  families 
and  individuals. 

Its  evil  spirit  is  cruel.  It  knows  no  sacrifice  and 
no  charity.  Conscience  is  not  its  rule.  Thus,  if 
hate  cannot  subdue  everything  within  its  reach,  it 
seeks  to  destroy.  All  ungodly  conquests  are  insti- 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  147 

gated  by  hate  and  achieved  by  the  wicked  means 
of  destruction. 

The  wicked  and  dishonorable  standpoint  toward 
God  and  His  sacrificial  plan  of  creation  is  the  actual 
cause  of  all  human  hatred. 

The  hating  soul  has  no  faith  in  divine  participa- 
tion, cooperation  and  affirmation.  It  does  not 
believe  in  divine  childship  and  human  brotherhood 
and  wants  no  Voice  of  God  as  the  rule  of  its  life. 
All  it  wants  is  self-willed  pride,  vanity  and  lust. 

Toward  the  weaker  it  displays  contempt  and 
toward  the  stronger  envy,  the  secret  abetter  of  all 
malice.  Devoid  of  inward  self-esteem,  which  flows 
from  the  living  faith  in  God,  the  hater  has  no  power 
for  the  worthy  appraisal  of  life.  Therefore  he 
stoops  to  the  adoration  of  the  flesh  in  order  to  satiate 
his  craving  desires. 

The  heart  is  full  of  desires.  They  are  the  very 
life  of  the  heart.  Hence,  if  the  heart  is  not  virtuous, 
its  desires  must  be  unworthy. 

Sensual  delight,  which  is  merely  a  providential 
means  of  procreation  and  permissible  only  in  life- 
long bonds  of  mutual  unselfish  love  for  the  exclusive 
aim  of  rearing  virtuous  children,  becomes  the  devour- 
ing passion  of  the  soul. 

Legal  and  illegal  means  are  widely  employed  in 
order  to  indulge  in  this  destructive  idol  of  sensuality. 


148 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Conscience,  honor,  faithfulness,  the  energy  of  will, 
the  cultivation  of  high  mentality  and  sacrificial  sen- 
timents, even  health  and  means,  are  thrown  to  the 
winds  in  this  animal  devotion  to  lust. 

This  world-wide  calamity,  unrestrained  by  pub- 
lic educational  methods,  accounts  for  the  stupendous 
lack  of  great  thinkers,  preachers,  artists  and  great 
leaders  of  humanity. 

Accumulation  of  wealth  and  sensual  luxuries 
always  have  and  always  will  paralyze  and  cripple 
the  divine  sense  of  sacrifice  in  man. 

Not  possessing  sacrificial  sense  in  his  heart,  and 
devoted  not  to  the  worthiness  but  to  the  lust  of 
life,  the  passionate  soul  always  searches  for  those 
means  which  enhance  sensual  luxuries. 

Wealth  has  only  one  intrinsic  value,  and  this 
value  lies  in  its  material  power  as  a  means  for  the 
education  of  the  human  character.  No  other  value 
can  be  conscientiously  attributed  to  wealth,  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  injustice  and  inefficiency  of  its 
distribution  and  by  its  corrupting  effects. 

If  this  intrinsic  value  of  material  means  is  not 
taken  into  serious  account,  as  it  rarely  is,  the  soul, 
intent  on  luxury,  devotes  its  energy  to  greed. 

Envy  is  the  instigator  of  hate,  and  greed  is  its 
executor.  Greed  is  cruel  in  all  its  motives.  To  grab, 
regardless  of  conscience,  sacrificial  feeling,  righteous 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  149 

insight,  and  contempt  of  human  necessities,  is  its 
very  life.  All  legal  and  illegal  means,  alluring 
promises  and  false  pretenses  are  employed  in  order 
to  satiate  its  devouring  spirit. 

Economy,  competition,  progress  and  patriotism 
are  the  vehicles  on  which  the  moloch  of  greed  rides 
to  its  goal  of  vanity  and  luxury  and  boastfully  pro- 
claims its  achievements  to  be  the  result  of  superior 
energy  and  intelligence.  The  power  of  personal 
energy  serves  as  a  pretext  with  which  to  conceal 
the  motive  to  crush  the  ignorant  and  the  weak. 

Greed  is  not  interested  in  the  elevation  but  the 
exploitation  of  the  masses.  It  gives  as  little  as  pos- 
sible for  the  crying  educational  needs  of  man  and 
keeps  as  much  as  possible  for  the  ill-gotten  privilege 
of  its  station. 

Intrinsically  heartless  aad  ignorant,  the  greedy 
soul  looks  like  a  combination  of  a  rat  and  a  wolf, 
the  former  working  underground  and  the  other 
above  the  ground  in  order  to  appease  its  abysmal 
hunger  for  wordly  riches.  Greed  is  a  passion  fit 
only  for  the  lowest  animals,  and  not  for  those  who 
have  conscience  and  honor  in  their  souls. 

Envy,  greed  and  sensuality  are  the  trio  on  which 
hate,  with  its  inward  pride  and  vanity,  lives.  They 
are  the  supporters  of  the  concealed  hate  of  every- 
thing divine,  of  everything  that  is  glorious,  true  and 


150 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

sacrificial.  The  degrees  of  the  intensity  of  this  hate 
and  its  application  in  life  are  innumerable,  and 
enumerable  are  its  daily  manifestations. 


UNRIGHTEOUSNESS 

Righteousness  is  the  holy  guardian  of  sacrificial 
and  worthy  values,  and  unrighteousness  the  violator 
and  abuser  of  these  sacred  values. 

The  inherent  tendency  of  unrighteousness  is  to 
corrupt,  betray  or  appropriate  everything  in  the 
spiritual  and  material  spheres  of  life  that  oppor- 
tunely presents  itself  as  an  object  of  prey  and  malice. 

Its  malicious  and  predatory  spirit  is  conscious  of 
the  general  trustfulness  of  man,  and  it  is  this  trust- 
fulness which  unrighteousness  undermines  and 
destroys.  With  envy,  mendacity,  avarice  and  sen- 
suality as  its  main  motives,  it  spreads  calumny,  dis- 
regards truth  and  honesty  and  indulges  in  carnal 
appetites,  resulting  in  assaults  on  honor,  benevo- 
lence and  innocence. 

Unrighteousness  is  the  temper  of  wickedness, 
capable  of  attuning  itself  to  every  human  emotion 
in  order  to  obtain  a  selfish  satisfaction  or  profit.  Its 
force  of  conviction  is  strictly  personal  interest,  with- 
out God  and  conscience.  Its  forces  of  persuasion 
are  cunning  and  embellished  lies,  and  its  force  of 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART [5J 

sentiment  an  assumed  and  elaborated  sympathy  in 
order  to  attain  its  base  aims  and  purposes. 

Perverted  in  his  motives  and  sentiment,  the 
unrighteous  man  can  use  no  other  representation 
than  false  pretexts  and  ungrounded  assumptions.  If 
his  promise  fails,  he,  with  feigned  regret,  offers  the 
excuse  that  he,  too,  is  deceived. 

He  always  begins  with  a  lie  and  ends  with  a  lie. 
When  exposed  and  condemned,  he  still  endeavors 
to  palliate  his  crimes,  and,  if  unsuccessful,  appeals 
to  mercy — he  who  had  no  compassion  for  the 
righteously  earned  honor,  means  and  innocence  of 
his  fellow-beings. 

Even  his  remorse  is  insincere,  for,  if  it  were  sin- 
cere, he  would  use  all  his  efforts  to  repair  the  com- 
mitted wrong.  He  grieves  far  more  over  his  own 
immediate  misfortunes  than  for  those  who  through 
long  periods  of  time  have  suffered  through  his 
wickedness. 

Unrighteousness  is  so  insidious  that  the  clever 
criminal  usually  evades  the  weak  fabric  of  estab- 
lished laws  and  is  even  able  to  sustain  a  superficial 
respectability,  supported  by  an  occasional  display  of 
benevolence  from  his  ill-gotten  gains. 

If  his  astuteness  fails  him  and  his  crime  is 
revealed,  he  often  strives  to  avail  himself  of  cor- 
ruptive  means  with  those  who  are  conscience-bound 


132 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

to  be  the  faithful  interpreters  and  defenders  of 
human  justice.  Nothing  is  holy,  nothing  is  true, 
and  nothing  is  sacrificial  to  the  unrighteous. 

Our  world  suffers  from  the  disregard  and  laxity 
of  justice  and  is  ruled  not  by  righteousness,  but  by 
schemes  of  inflated  vanity  cloaked  in  a  thin  garb 
of  justice.  There  is  an  unrighteous  competition  of 
creeds,  nations,  classes,  corporations,  families  and 
individuals  under  the  name  or  without  the  name 
of  God,  with  little  or  no  spirit  of  God  in  the  hearts 
of  men. 

It  is  this  fact  which  fills  the  religious  soul  with 
anxiety  for  the  future  of  humanity.  That  humanity 
has  survived  more  than  one  disaster  is  no  consola- 
tion, but  a  fatalistic  statement.  Such  statements 
overlook  the  tremendous  spiritual  losses  and  suffer- 
ing which  these  disasters  have  caused  and,  with 
each  recrudescence,  are  bound  to  cause  again. 

Surely,  the  privileged  classes  always  suffer  less 
than  the  unprivileged  ones.  Hence  their  optimistic 
oracles  are  no  safe  gauge  for  security  and  progress. 
Spiritual  progress,  moreover,  rarely  comes  from  these 
quarters.  It  has  come  mainly  from  those  who  suf- 
fered crucifixion,  burning,  prisons,  calumnies,  starva- 
tion and  all  sorts  of  persecution,  but  with  the  burn- 
ing love  of  God  in  their  righteous  hearts.  Nothing 
has  been  too  difficult  for  them  to  surmount  and 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  153 

endure  in  order  to  render  the  greatest  possible  serv- 
ice to  humanity;  that  very  humanity  which  is  so 
passive  to  the  religious  sublimity  of  our  life. 

Are  there  better  fields  of  glory  than  the  fields  of 
righteousness?  Is  the  better  half  of  mankind  pre- 
pared for  the  most  decisive  battle  of  our  life?  God 
demands  righteousness  to  prove  the  esteem  and  love 
of  conscience.  Man  demands  righteousness  in  order 
to  have  faith  in  and  respect  for  his  fellow-beings. 
Even  animals  expect  righteousness  from  man  in 
order  to  feel  his  superiority  over  themselves. 

But  the  unrighteous  soul  considers  neither  the 
Voice  of  God  nor  faith  and  respect.  All  he  does 
consider  is  his  own  ungodly  selfishness.  He  steals 
the  divine  sanction  of  honor  and  considers  it  his  own 
property.  He  assumes  power  without  the  divine 
title  of  sacredness.  He  feels  that  he  owes  nothing 
to  anybody  except  to  himself.  He  lives  in  order 
to  dictate  his  arbitrary  will,  and  not  in  order  to 
render  worthy  service,  as  all  righteous  and  mighty 
spirits  do. 

He  wastes  his  life  on  egotistic  nothingness  and 
on  those  he  gratuitously  favors.  No  sacred  merit 
is  ever  seriously  considered.  He  leaves  behind 
him  no  clear  marks  of  honorable  deeds,  no  ideas 
which  are  the  products  of  high  and  worthy  intellect, 
and  no  sentiments  that  awaken  immortal  gratitude. 


154  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL   

God  and  humanity,  not  to  speak  of  the  higher  and 
lower  creatures  in  God's  universe,  are  of  no  living 
interest  to  him;  therefore  it  is  just  that  he  should 
be  forgotten. 

Thus  millions  of  souls  pass  through  the  shadow 
of  our  sphere  without  ever  concentrating  their  atten- 
tion upon  the  justice  of  God.  They  see  His  holy 
justice  in  many  incidents  of  individual  and  collective 
life.  They  sometimes  feel  justice  in  their  inward- 
ness, for  they  must  consider  it  in  their  daily  activ- 
ities, but  they  have  no  living  love  for  it. 

The  worth  of  each  soul  is  adjudicated  according 
to  the  degree  of  its  intrinsic  righteousness  or  unright- 
eousness, and  accordingly  the  soul  receives  its  prov- 
idential station  in  another  life. 


SELFISHNESS 

Goodness  is  the  collective  expression  of  all  vir- 
tues, and  selfishness  the  collective  expression  of  all 
passions. 

Selfishness  is  inherent  in  pride,  with  its  vanity 
and  ingratitude.  Here  the  personal  self  makes  itself 
the  object  of  self-adoration,  pretentiousness  and 
self-fruition. 

Here  he  demonstrates  his  failure  of  immortal 
power  and,  being  in  continuous  strife  with  other 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART 


self-adoring  souls,  he  cannot  reap  anything  but 
religious  misery  and  discontent. 

Not  having  the  divine  ground  as  the  source  of 
his  motives,  the  selfish  man  is  unable  to  cause 
heavenly  harmony,  and  encounters  continuous  obsta- 
cles in  his  achievements,  which,  if  attained,  give 
only  momentary  satisfaction. 

The  human  self  is  always  bored  by  its  own 
selfishness  and  continually  chases  after  external 
impressions,  excitements  and  indulgences,  only  to 
feel  the  disappointment  of  their  uselessness  and 
instability.  He  knows  no  mental  and  sentimental 
discipline  and  culture,  and  his  heart  is  obdurate  and 
insensitive  to  spiritual  dignity  and  refinement.  Intox- 
ication with  vanity  and  sensuality  are  of  very  short 
duration  and  leave  disillusion  and  suffering  as  the 
enduring  mark  of  their  visit. 

Thus,  if  the  self-conscious  and  self-sentient  will 
of  man  searches  for  such  idols  only,  his  intellect 
must  necessarily  remain  shallow  and  shortsighted. 
His  mind  always  dwells  on  surfaces  and  never 
remains  long  enough  with  any  worthy  object  to  con- 
centrate for  profounder  scrutiny. 

Owing  to  his  untrained  motives  and  ideas,  his 
memory  cannot  hold  profounder  thoughts,  of  which 
he  has  a  casual  glimpse,  but  of  which  he  is  unable 
to  avail  himself  for  his  own  spiritual  benefit.  This 


156  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

state  causes  his  skeptical  fatalism,  in  which  he  finds 
the  incentive  and  the  excuse  to  care  chiefly  for 
himself. 

Self -sympathetic  for  himself  and  what  pleases 
him,  and  indifferent  or  antipathetic  to  anything  above 
or  beneath  him,  all  his  feelings  circle  around  his 
own  ego,  as  the  ground  and  aim  of  all  his  aspirations. 

Selfishness  is  the  logical  result  of  all  passions, 
the  inward  unwillingness,  inattention  and  apathy  to 
our  glorious  and  immortal  predestination. 

The  mass  of  men  believe  in  God  more  out  of 
fear  and  the  hope  of  unmerited  blessing  than  because 
of  sincere  adoration,  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 
Only  the  few  have  profounder  religious  sentiments. 

There  is  a  deeply  inrooted  selfish  undercurrent, 
inculcated  by  traditional  pride  and  prejudice,  in  all 
religious  creeds.  Their  paramount  teaching  is  not 
Divine  Fatherhood  and,  consequently,  they  do  not 
preeminently  insist  on  our  divine  childship  and 
divine  brotherhood,  all  of  which  constitute  the  real 
and  actual  essence  of  religion. 

By  reason  of  this  fact  the  gates  of  hypocrisy  and 
fanaticism  are  broadly  open,  resulting  in  mutual 
disrespect,  hatred,  persecution  and  the  fiendish  con- 
demnation to  "eternal"  torture.  A  confession  with- 
out regard  to  the  Voice  of  God,  despite  its  wish 
to  the  contrary,  can  be  nothing  else  but  a  mental 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  157 

and  sentimental  distortion  of  the  divine  spirit  of 
religion. 

This  selfish  standpoint,  together  with  the  want  of 
knowledge  of  the  divine  cause  and  aim  of  our  exist- 
ence, is  responsible  for  the  general  religious  confusion 
and  inertness. 

Many  great  names  have  been  written  on  the  ban- 
ners of  religion  in  the  effort  to  further  its  mission 
and,  while  many  of  them  produced  a  temporary 
awakening,  religious  progress  is  slow  and  still 
remains  far  from  its  ultimate  aim. 

The  very  grandeur  of  religion  demands  a  great 
world  vision.  It  cannot  be  confined,  as  it  always 
has  been,  to  local  or  temporary  sources.  We  must 
know  the  might  of  God  in  all  its  manifestations. 
We  must  know  the  very  essence  and  purport  of  our 
souls.  We  must  know  at  least  the  general  structure 
and  significance  of  the  whole  universe  before  we 
shall  be  able  to  recognize  the  futility,  ignorance  and 
shame  of  our  selfish  life. 

Selfishness  brings  us  down  to  the  comparison  with 
animals.  The  selfish  soul  never  compares  himself 
with  the  great  spirits  above  or  the  best  spirits  among 
us,  in  order  to  profit  by  their  experience.  In  his 
spiritual  littleness  he  compares  himself  with  his 
equals  or,  more  frequently,  with  those  who  to  him 


158  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

appear  less  important  than  himself,  in  order  to  enjoy 
his  self-satisfaction. 

He  is  nearly  as  self-centered  in  his  little  heart, 
as  self-willed,  suspicious,  cunning,  vain,  greedy  and 
sensual  as  animals  are.  His  spirit  knows  no  broader 
harmonies  of  life,  but  is  tribal  and  gregarious.  He 
never  attempts  to  search  for  better  associations  in 
order  to  attain  greater  spiritual  tastes  and  visions. 
And,  if  he  finds  such  associations,  they  do  not 
respond  to  his  arbitrary  will  and  wishes. 

His  senses  are  mainly  concentrated  on  things 
material,  and  not  on  spiritual  honor  and  conscience. 
Yet  he  always  appeals  to  conscience  for  the  sake 
of  his  selfish  aims.  He  makes  conscience  the  instru- 
ment of  his  selfishness.  If  he  is  cultured,  in  the 
worldly  sense,  he  becomes  all  the  more  dangerous, 
for  his  superficial  amenities  are  more  enticing  and 
the  object  of  his  prey  more  easily  caught. 

Our  world  is  full  of  tacticians  of  selfishness. 
They  assume  the  garb  of  respectability.  They  speak 
deliberately  and  cautiously.  They  not  only  appeal 
to  the  sentiment  of  profit  but  also  to  the  sentiment 
of  happiness.  The  whole  human  weakness  is  care- 
fully studied  and,  by  means  of  clever  ingratiation 
and  flattery,  conquered  for  his  selfish  ends.  "I  have 
got  him,"  is  his  triumphant  sentiment.  And,  just 
as  he  deceives  others,  he  himself  is  deceived,  and 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  1 59 

ultimately  believes  that  no  man  can  live  without 
deceit  and  be  materially  successful.  This  conclu- 
sion, based  on  human  experience,  reveals  the  obvious 
indictment  of  the  selfishness  of  the  human  race. 

Material  objects  have  only  instrumental  value. 
If  instruments  are  mistaken  for  the  aim  of  life,  then 
our  inner  sense  of  worthiness  and  of  our  divine  voca- 
tion must  suffer. 

It  is  the  suffering  from  the  want  of  this  divine 
power  which  causes  our  passions  and  the  ungodly 
disorder  among  us.  In  a  vortex  of  passions  it  is 
impossible  to  have  clear  visions  of  our  sublime  des- 
tiny and  a  heart  with  pure  sentiments.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  have  motives  which  reach  out  beyond  our 
little  ego  unless  the  practice  of  goodness  is  more 
encouraged. 

Goodness,  being  the  general  expression  of  vir- 
tuous life,  by  virtue  of  this  fact  becomes  the  intro- 
duction and  inducement  to  virtues.  In  itself  the  most 
patient  virtue,  all  it  demands  is  little  acts  of  benevo- 
lence and  kindness  frequently  repeated.  A  little 
good  deed  which  any  child  can  perform,  a  good, 
sincere  counsel  which  every  man  ought  to  be  able 
to  give,  a  little  encouragement  and  cheer  to  every- 
body, is  an  enjoyment  of  the  goodness  of  life  itself. 

In  order  not  to  fail  in  these  acts,  greater  restraint 
of  our  passionate  impulses,  a  gradual  abatement  of 


160  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

the  mere  lust  of  life  and  of  the  most  insisting  passions 
must  be  applied,  that  our  hearts  may  attain  purer 
and  sublimer  sensibilities. 

Furthermore,  the  virtuous  spirit  must  be  gradually 
fostered  until  it  penetrates  into  the  deepest  recesses 
of  the  heart,  becomes  the  root  of  all  sentiments,  and 
until  it  bears  the  heavenly  fruit  of  greater  sacri- 
fices. Only  then  will  our  souls  rejoice  in  true 
happiness. 

The  intellectually  gifted  man  ought  to  turn  his 
mind  toward  his  own  inwardness  and  apply  intro- 
spection and  self-observation  of  his  spiritual  forces, 
in  order  clearly  to  see  in  them  the  shining  might  of 
conscience  and  in  this  conscience  the  eternal  work 
of  God,  full  of  ineffable  majesty,  truth  and  love. 
Here  he  will  find  all  the  proofs  his  heart  desires, 
not  only  convincing  proofs  but  the  dominating  and 
insisting  proofs  of  his  human  dignity,  profound  men- 
tality and  that  great  and  ravishing  love  which  knows 
no  other  bounds  than  the  absolute  might  and  beauty 
of  God. 

The  strong  of  will,  even  if  he  is  a  great  sinner, 
has  every  motive  to  become  a  great  saint.  Nothing 
has  been  too  difficult  for  him  in  order  to  attain  selfish 
aims.  Why  should  it  be  so  difficult  for  him  to 
attain  the  eternal  aim  of  his  life?  He  has  a  stronger 
determination  and  greater  endurance  and  persever- 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  161 


ance  in  the  face  of  obstacles.  He  is  able  to  suffer 
more  than  others  and  has  no  need  to  show  his  suffer- 
ing. None  needs  to  know  his  bleeding  heart  except 
God  and  himself.  All  he  has  to  do  is  to  change  his 
selfish  motives  into  unselfish  motives,  and  live  them, 
in  order  to  insure  the  glory  and  greatness  of  his  soul. 

In  order  to  eliminate  selfishness  from  the  human 
heart,  the  education  in  goodness  must  begin  from 
the  cradle  and  never  cease.  Worthy  life  consists 
in  the  continuous  performance  of  good  deeds.  If 
we  miss  one  day  in  performing  some  good  deed 
we  ought  to  weep  from  remorse.  It  is  a  lost  and 
worthless  day. 

Parents  who  do  not  inculcate  goodness  in  the 
hearts  of  their  children  are  bad  parents.  The 
spiritual  treasures  of  their  characters  is  the  worthiest 
inheritance.  Teachers  who  do  not  explain  the  value 
of  their  instruction  cannot  expect  due  reverence. 
The  spirit  of  teaching  flows  from  sacrificial  motives, 
and  these  motives  must  be  instilled  in  every  learner. 
Preachers  who  in  their  sermons  do  not  hold  the 
esteem  and  necessity  of  goodness  before  their  hear- 
ers are  poor  missionaries.  Goodness  is  the  most 
effective  mark  of  the  divine  spirit.  Friends  whose 
first  and  last  impulse  and  sentiment  is  not  the  out- 
flow of  pure  goodness  are  mere  traders  in  selfish 
sentiments. 


162  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Fortunately,  not  all  human  souls  are  wholly  sel- 
fish. There  are  many  who  do  a  little  good,  but 
there  are  too  few  who  do  much  good. 

If  the  broad  spirit  of  goodness  is  not  assiduously 
encouraged  and  fostered  in  the  human  heart,  little 
or  nothing  divine  can  be  perceived  and  sensed,  leav- 
ing humanity  without  the  spiritual  remedy  which 
alone  is  able  to  suppress  and  eliminate  the  most  com- 
mon ailment  of  our  hearts. 

Selfishness  is  the  most  widespread  ailment  and 
ugliness  of  the  soul.  It  clouds  the  conscience, 
weakens  the  good-will,  obscures  the  mind,  chills 
the  heart  and,  if  ambitious  and  ruthless,  becomes 
the  wicked  destroyer  of  that  little  divine  sense  by 
virtue  of  which  humanity  barely  holds  its  head  above 
the  sea  of  sins  and  passions. 

The  destruction  of  passions  cannot  be  accom- 
plished by  the  mere  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  we 
are  so  full  of  them.  We  must  know  their  psycho- 
logical reason  in  order  to  reach  the  root  of  all  pas- 
sions. The  cure  of  symptoms  is  not  a  cure  of  the 
disease.  Suppressed  in  one  place,  it  affects  other 
vital  parts  until  it  finally  accomplishes  its  work  of 
destruction. 

The  competent  diagnostician  always  searches  for 
the  cause  of  the  disease  in  order  to  attack  it  in  its 
secret  habitation.  He  who  does  not  thoroughly 


PASSIONS  OF  THE  HEART  163 

know  the  healthful  structure  of  the  body  cannot 
find  the  hidden  place.  Hence,  unless  we  under- 
stand the  divine  structure  of  conscience,  and  the 
structure  of  the  soul,  the  elimination  of  passions  out 
of  the  human  heart  cannot  be  successfully  achieved. 
As  in  diet  and  exercise  lies  the  secret  of  physical 
health,  so  in  spiritual  food  and  work  lies  the  secret 
of  the  purity  and  sublimity  of  human  character. 


THE  BODY  OF  THE  SOUL 

What  is  the  body  of  the  soul? 

Existentially,  the  body  of  the  soul  is  a  fragment 
of  the  universal  substance  of  nature,  created  by 
virtue  of  Divine  extramanence,  which  constitutes  the 
outward  might  of  God. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  the  existence  of  the  phys- 
ical form  of  the  soul? 

The  essential  purpose  of  everything  physical,  or 
nature  in  general  and  of  the  physical  body  in  par- 
ticular, is  the  instrumental,  illustrative  and  useful 
manifestation  of  spiritual  activity  and  value. 

Why   do   we  call  bodies   instrumental  for'ces  and 
forms  P 

Because,  as  facts  prove,  the  material  body  has 
no  autonomic  spiritual  forces;  it  has  neither  will 
nor  intellect  nor  sentiment,  but  is  adaptable  only  as 
an  instrument  for  the  spiritual  expression  of  volun- 
tary, intelligent  and  sentimental  forces.  It  has  no 
autonomic,  but  only  automatic  potentiality.  The 

164 


_  THE  BODY  OF  THE  SOUL  165 

human  body  executes  all  physical  expressions,  yet 
it  is  the  soul  that  plans  and  leads  its  body  to  this 
execution.  It  is  always  the  spiritual  substance  or 
soul  which  controls  and  uses  the  form  of  the  phys- 
ical substance  or  body,  a  fact  which  is  proved  in 
our  daily  experience. 


is  instrumentality  the  first  force  of  the  body? 

Because  instrumentality  is  the  means  and  condi- 
tion of  outward  activity,  and  activity  is  the  first 
spiritual  form  of  the  soul.  Phvsical  forces  are 
invariably  concomitant  and  correspond  with  the 
spiritual  forces. 

Thus  the  brain  is  only  the  instrument  of  think- 
ing, but  not  the  thinking  force.  An  architect  or 
builder  may  have  many  structural  ideas,  yet  he  can- 
not execute  them  concretely  in  order  to  convey  them 
to  the  vision  of  others  without  structural  means. 
Man  cannot  convey  his  thoughts  without  speech 
or  signs,  which  are  essentially  instrumental. 

The  brain  is  the  physical  instrument  through 
which  the  complex  of  knowledge  is  held  and  accord- 
ing to  which  the  soul  defines  its  thoughts.  This, 
however,  by  no  means  proves  that  the  self-conscious 
and  self-sentient  will  is  part  of  the  brain.  On  the 
contrary,  with  a  little  thought,  everybody  can  see 
that  it  is  not  the  brain  which  controls  the  spiritual 


166 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

forces  of  man,  but  that  the  soul  always  controls 
its  brain.  The  soul  directs  the  brain  in  any  direc- 
tion it  wishes.  It  cultivates  it  morally  and  phys- 
ically, or  weakens  it  by  distractions  and  dissipations. 

The  weak  human  intellect  is  always  prone  to  take 
the  instrument  for  realities  or  effects  for  causes  of 
life,  a  fact  which  clearly  manifests  the  childishness 
of  the  human  mind  and  the  lack  of  the  power  of 
pro  founder  insight. 

The  heart  is  the  instrument  for  the  sustaining  of 
physical  life,  just  as  sentiments  are  the  actuating 
and  sustaining  forces  of  our  spiritual  life.  Like 
the  blood  in  the  body,  these  sentiments  circulate 
through  all  parts  of  the  soul's  life.  And,  like  the 
pure  blood  which  obtains  its  force  from  pure 
atmosphere  and  pure  and  simple  food,  thus  also 
great  sentiments  obtain  their  power  from  the  pure 
spiritual  atmosphere  and  pure,  unselfish  objects  of 
fruitional  life. 

The  second  feature  of  the  body  is  its  force  of 
illustration.  Each  soul,  whether  superhuman,  human 
or  animal,  is  clearly  illustrated  by  its  body,  not 
only  in  its  generic  and  racial  but  even  in  spe- 
cifically psychological  features. 

At  the  first  sight  of  anybody  we  perceive  the 
general  expression  of  the  soul's  inwardness.  In 
man  we  see  the  various  degrees  of  volitional,  intel- 


THE  BODY  OF  THE_SOUL  167 

lectual  and  sentimental  powers,  their  deficiency  or 
their  almost  total  absence.  We  see  the  particular 
moral  or  immoral  tendencies;  also  various  talents 
and  aptitudes.  We  feel  the  moral  sympathy  or  its 
absence  in  the  whole  external  attitude.  We  see  the 
influence  of  racial  traditions  and  of  mental  and  sen- 
timental culture,  or  the  distinct  want  of  culture. 

The  face  of  every  man  and  animal  is  the  plastic 
image  of  the  soul.  Its  habitual  tendency  and  par- 
ticular emotions  are  illustrated  in  the  form  and 
motions  of  the  face  and  other  parts  of  the  body. 

We  call  these  expressions  spontaneous,  but  spon- 
taneity is  the  inherent  attribute  of  the  will.  Spon- 
taneity does  not  exist  in  a  physical  body.  It  only 
expresses  it,  plastically  and  formally.  The  body  of 
the  soul  is  merely  a  physical  mechanism  through 
which  the  soul  acts  and  expresses  itself  externally. 

Each  body  is  a  mere  physical  instrument  for  the 
purpose  of  the  illustration  and  utility  of  spiritual 
life.  In  itself  it  possesses  neither  virtue  nor  passion. 
It  only  illustrates  virtues  and  passions  physically  as 
an  external  concomitant  of  life. 

The  whole  nature  is  the  external  concomitant  of 
spiritual  life.  Creationally  and  providentially  it 
adheres  to  every  spiritual  being  in  each  sphere  of 
existence.  The  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest  spirits 
have  physical  bodies,  each  corresponding  with  and 


168 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

appropriately  defining  the  inward  state  of  the  soul. 

The  forms  of  bodies  are  as  various  as  are  the  col- 
lective and  particular  states  of  souls.  Since  the 
collective  and  particular  states  of  souls  are  numer- 
ically infinite,  the  forms  of  bodies  must  be  infinite 
in  their  expressions.  Our  sphere  of  life  furnishes 
us  only  a  very  limited  number  of  these  forms, 
though  even  these  are  too  numerous  for  any  human 
being  to  know. 

The  evidence  of  the  utility  of  bodies,  and  of 
nature  in  general,  is  obvious  and  needs  no  further 
explanation.  The  whole  external  life  of  nature 
expresses  itself  most  forcibly  through  its  utility, 
which  adds  greatly  to  the  instruction  and  joy  of  all 
good  deeds,  while  its  abuse  justly  punishes  all  who 
live  as  if  nature  and  body  and  not  the  great  spiritual 
destiny  were  the  sole  aim  of  life. 

Is  it  possible  to  visualize  the  soul  and  its  body 
in  their  substantial  form  and  inseparable  relation? 
Yes,  it  is  not  only  possible  but  also  necessary  to 
see  this  psycho-physical  form,  which  constitutes  our 
personal  being,  in  order  to  understand  the  absolute 
necessity  of  our  inward  and  outward  relation  to 
God  and  the  holy  purpose  of  our  life.  This  subject 
is  explained  in  the  last  chapters  of  the  work  "The 
Face  of  God  and  the  Plan  of  Divine  Creation." 


THE  BODY  OF  THE  SOUL  169 

Has  the  body  of  the  soul  a  religious  value? 

Indeed  it  has.  Like  everything  material  in  the 
universe,  being  strictly  instrumental,  illustrative  and 
useful  in  its  essence,  thus  also  the  body  of  the  soul 
is  the  external  personal  form  of  this  physical 
essence. 

Through  this  form  the  soul  performs  all  its  out- 
ward activities,  reveals  its  own  spiritual  content,  and 
realizes  its  sentimental  life  of  fruition,  either  worthily 
or  unworthily. 

The  body  must  be  used  as  a  skilled  mechanician 
uses  his  best  instrument.  It  should  always  be  ready 
for  constructive  accomplishments.  It  ought  to  be 
esteemed  as  a  gift  of  God  and,  irrespective  of  its 
natural  deficiencies  and  ailments,  regarded  as  the 
providential  means  for  the  fulfillment  of  our  holy 
destiny. 

Material  joys  must  be  looked  upon  from  the 
standpoint  of  conscience,  worthiness  and  the  great 
aim  of  our  life,  and  accepted  and  conducted  accord- 
ingly. All  other  material  joys  are  selfish  and  thus 
not  only  impede  the  progress  of  mankind,  but  also 
contaminate  and  destroy  the  virtuous  sensibilities  and 
refinement  of  the  soul. 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

Life  in  its  spiritual  and  physical  singularity,  by 
the  fact  of  its  inherent  definition,  is  immortal. 

The  pessimistic  term  death  is  not  annihilation, 
as  it  superficially  appears,  but  a  process  of  spiritual 
transition  and  physical  transformation  of  life. 

As  the  potentiality  of  material  elements  dwells 
in  each  natural  fragment,  thus  the  potentiality  of 
volitional,  mental  and  sentimental  expressions  dwells 
in  each  spiritual  being. 

The  self-conscious  and  self-sentient  will,  which 
constitutes  the  personality  of  the  soul,  can  no  more 
disintegrate  or  its  forces  be  separated  from  each 
other  than  the  natural  units  of  fire,  light  and  heat, 
except  in  relative  discriminations  and  applications. 

In  both  instances  the  substantial  spiritual  and  nat- 
ural units  forever  retain  their  existential  forms.  None 
can  conceive  or  has  ever  experienced  a  will  without 
thought  and  sentiments,  a  thought  without  will  and 
sentiments,  or  sentiment  without  will  and  thought. 
Nor  has  anyone  ever  conceived  fire  without  light 
and  heat,  light  without  fire  and  heat,  or  heat  with- 
out fire  and  light. 

170 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE  171 


This  orientation  demonstrates  immortality  only 
from  the  existential  standpoint.  There  yet  are  two 
more  important  standpoints  from  which  immortality 
must  be  considered,  the  spiritual  and  superspiritual 
standpoints. 

Spiritual  life,  in  its  principle  and  evolution,  has 
more  existential  importance  than  natural  life.  The 
spiritual  substance,  being  volitional,  intelligent  and 
sentimental,  possesses  a  greater  degree  of  dignity 
than  a  mere  instrumental,  illustrative  and  utilitarian 
substance.  The  idea  and  sentiment  of  spiritual 
immortality  is  far  more  insisting  than  material  inde- 
structibility. The  human  sense  of  dignity  vehe- 
mently rejects  the  comparison  of  its  essence  with 
matter.  Every  self-respecting  man  sacrifices  all  mate- 
rial means  before  he  yields  a  moral  point  of  his 
spiritual  life. 

But  above  these  demonstrations  of  immortality 
stands  the  superspiritual  evidence  that  our  spiritual 
forces,  in  order  to  sustain  their  dignity,  continuously 
aim  at  superspiritual  dignity  and  honor  as  the 
supreme  value  of  their  life.  The  human  being  dis- 
dains to  be  called  base,  false  and  wicked. 

Dignity,  wisdom  and  love  are  not  integral  forces 
of  the  soul,  but  the  ruling  mights  of  the  soul.  We 
attain  dignity  through  the  application  of  our  will 
to  the  dignity  of  our  character.  We  attain  wisdom 


172 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

through  thinking  of  what  is  superspiritually  and 
objectively  true  and  right.  And  we  obtain  love 
through  the  cultivation  of  sacrificial  sentiments  in 
our  hearts.  True  love  demands  pure  and  unselfish 
sentiments  and  gives  proof  of  the  greatness  and  lofti- 
ness of  the  religious  character. 

To  assert  that  ideas,  sentiments  and  heroism  are 
immortal,  and  that  the  personal  source  and  powei 
which  produces  immortal  ideas,  sentiments  and 
heroism  is  mortal,  reveals  ignorance  of  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  logic. 

Z3p   what  means   are  Tve  best  able   to   understand 
the  course  of  our  future  life? 

By  means  of  the  superspiritual  might  and  form  of 
justice.  All  religious  traditions  and  all  inward 
feeling  pertaining  to  future  life  are  established  on 
the  more  or  less  profound  sense  of  this  Divine  might. 

In  this  instance,  as  in  many  other  religious 
instances,  the  anthropomorphic  spirit  of  man  casts  its 
shadows.  Thus  far  we  have  had  mainly  idealistic 
visions,  consisting  in  a  general  promise  of  the  con- 
templation of  God  as  the  ultimate  aim  of  our  life. 
We  have  purgatories,  with  a  final  but  indistinct 
release  to  heaven.  We  have  horrible  hells  in  which 
no  consolation  or  salvation  beckons  to  those  who 
are  doomed  to  eternal  torture.  There  are  presenta- 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE [73 

tions  of  joy  and  punishment  in  the  future  life  which 
are  very  human  and  garbed  in  anthropomorphic 
crudeness. 

The  eschatological  problem  of  all  creeds  reflects 
the  lack  of  greatness  in  their  proclaimed  tenets  and 
the  impotence  of  their  invitation  to  the  future  life. 
All  their  views  are  geocentric  and  almost  domestic 
in  general  concept  and  too  cruel  in  their  negative 
features  to  cause  inspiration  and  living  interest  in 
our  future  life. 

Fear  has  only  an  accessory  educational  value  and, 
if  constantly  exaggerated,  causes  servile  submission, 
dullness  of  mind  and  fatalistic  or  desperate  predis- 
positions. Unprogressiveness  and  revolutions  always 
thrive  on  tyrannies. 

True  education  consists  in  causing  understanding 
and  love  for  the  immortal  grandeur  of  our  life.  If 
the  grandeur  of  our  future  life  is  not  considered  an 
integral  part  of  religious  education,  and  is  treated 
superficially,  no  man  can  expect  a  living  interest  in 
religion. 

All  our  life's  efforts  are  consciously  devoted  to 
the  future.  If  it  is  only  a  matter  of  one  future 
moment,  it  is  this  future  moment  which  constitutes 
the  incentive  of  our  activity.  Our  whole  life  con- 
sists of  a  continuous  chain  of  future  moments, 
because  the  future  is  the  real  process  of  our  aim  and 


174 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

of  life  itself.  What  is  progress  or  evolution  if  not 
the  inherent  tendency  to  attain  our  ultimate  aim? 
And. what  is  this  ultimate  aim  if  not  the  attainment 
of  the  "Highest  and  Best/'  which  is  holiness,  truth 
and  love,  the  eternally  urging  trinity  of  our  life? 

Indeed,  we  do  consider  our  steps  from  the  past 
into  the  present,  but  we  do  not  consider  them  as 
diligently  and  as  arduously  as  our  steps  from  the 
present  into  the  future.  The  goal  of  our  life,  and 
this  means  the  goal  of  our  dignity,  understanding 
and  love,  is  always  immediately  before  us.  Either 
in  life  or  death  this  goal  never  leaves  our  thoughts 
and  sentiments. 

Each  accomplished  individual  or  collective  prog- 
ress is  nothing  else  but  a  renewed  fulfillment  of  jus- 
tice. But  the  relative  justice  of  incidental  facts 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  absolute  justice, 
which  involves  the  whole  complex  of  our  determina- 
tions, ideas  and  sentiments,  which  involves  the 
esteem  or  disregard  of  holy  bonds  of  fulfilled  or 
unfulfilled  promises  and  the  care  or  neglect  of  the 
religious  culture  of  mind  and  the  sacrificial  motives 
of  sentiments. 

It  is  from  this  standpoint  of  absolute  justice  that 
the  soul  which  comes  into  and  leaves  our  sphere  of 
life  must  be  judged  in  order  to  obtain  a  general 
insight  into  its  past  and  future  life. 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 


Worlds  and  innumerable  spheres  of  worlds  are 
mere  providential  conditions  for  souls  which  in  each 
instant  of  their  lives  are  essentially  what  they  have 
made  themselves.  Thus,  according  to  their  self- 
determined  worthiness  or  unworthiness,  they  receive 
the  just  and  charitable  conditions  in  which  to  fulfill 
their  destiny. 

Everything  existential,  spiritual  as  well  as  natural, 
lives  in  time  and  space.  There  are  no  planes  or 
states  without  the  natural  forms  of  time  and  space, 
as  some,  in  their  misunderstanding  of  and  incon- 
sistent aversion  to  nature,  maintain. 

God  is  not  a  mere  existence,  but  a  Superexistence 
from  which  all  existences  creationally  derive.  His 
eternity  is  not  a  part  of  time,  however  superior,  but 
it  causes  time  as  a  natural  means  for  the  participa- 
tion of  souls  in  His  eternity.  God  is  not  a  locality, 
however  spacious  His  extramanent  or  outer  might 
may  be,  but  the  eternal  source  of  universal  space 
and  the  center  around  which  all  space  extends. 

The  universe  is  essentially  theocentric.  It  is 
continually  created  by  the  eternal  sun  of  Divine 
extramanence,  the  absolute  might  of  outward  man- 
ifestation. Thus  the  universe  is  a  great,  magnificent 
sphere  surrounding  the  central  sun  of  God. 

This  fact  by  no  means  intimates  that  God  dwells 
in  time  and  space,  for  time  and  space  are  relative 


176 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

to  His  creative  might.  God  is  not  dependent  from 
time  and  space,  as  is  a  creature,  because  he  pos- 
sesses the  principle  of  both  in  His  creative  might, 
a  thing  of  which  a  creature  is  absolutely  incapable. 

To  God,  time  and  space  are  no  conditions  of 
existence,  as  they  are  to  us.  He  wields  and  rules 
time  and  space  absolutely  in  order  to  condition  the 
spiritual  and  natural  existence  for  the  cooperation 
with  His  Divine  plan,  which  is  essentially  superspir- 
itual.  Time  and  space  are  mere  natural  quanti- 
tative conditions  of  relative  life. 

The  prevalent  idea  that  God  exists  somewhere 
beyond  the  universe  does  not  alter  this  so  far  per- 
plexing question.  The  "somewhere"  cannot  be 
eliminated. 

All  principal  spiritual  powers  and  natural  forces 
are  central.  This  is  their  logical  structure,  reflecting 
the  absolute  structure  of  Divine  life  and  extram- 
anence.  The  spiritual  will  is  the  center  of  all  mental 
and  sentimental  activity.  All  electromagnetic  or 
radioactive  forces  have  their  relative  centers.  And 
all  these  relative  centers  are  held  and  caused  to  move 
and  circle  by  the  absolute  center  of  Divine  extram- 
anence  from  which  the  all  moving  substance  of 
nature  derives. 

God  must  not  be  visualized  from  the  standpoint 
of  a  proud  aloofness,  as  is  customary  with  man. 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 177 

He  is  the  center  and  the  heart  of  the  "Highest  and 
Best,"  which  our  poor  souls  are  constantly  using 
and  abusing. 

The  whole  universe  is  one  immense  order  of  spir- 
itual spheres  which,  by  virtue  of  their  cooperating 
intensity  or  passivity,  are  placed  in  corresponding 
nearness  to  or  distance  from  God. 

In  this  universal  sphere,  incalculable  to  us  in  its 
immensity,  reigns  the  perfect  order  of  repelling  and 
gravitating  forces,  thus  forming  equilibria  of  forces 
on  which  are  maintained  the  circular  courses  of  the 
groups  of  solar  and  planetary  bodies. 

There  are  many  equilibria  of  forces,  beginning 
from  the  central  sun  of  God  and  succeeding  one 
another  at  tremendous  distances  until  they  reach  the 
extreme  outwardness,  where  there  is  neither  light, 
warmth  nor  life. 

On  each  of  these  equilibrious  courses  travel  the 
innumerable  solar  groups  like  our  Milky  Way, 
various  in  sizes  and  constellations,  yet  mere  little 
spots  in  the  divine  universe. 

The  greatest  force  is  at  its  central  issue  and  grad- 
ually diminishes  with  each  distance.  The  inward 
equilibria,  with  their  groups  of  stellar  bodies,  contain 
the  greatest  force  and  purity,  which,  with  each 
distance,  diminishes  in  its  power  of  function.  There- 
fore, all  stellar  bodies  coursing  on  the  inward  equi- 


1 78  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

libria  have  far  greater  natural  power  and  beauty 
than  have  those  on  the  outward  courses. 

Owing  to  the  prevailing  geocentric  sense,  we 
employ  the  terms  "upward"  and  "downward." 
These  terms  are  correct  only  when  they  mean  spir- 
itual elevation  and  debasement.  Yet,  from  the  view- 
point of  existence,  they  are  not  correct.  There  is 
no  existential  "upward"  and  "downward,"  but  an 
inward  and  outward. 

Souls,  as  well  as  all  forces  constituting  the  sub- 
stance of  nature,  move  both  inwardly  and  outwardly. 
This  is  the  logical  circle  of  all  movements  of  life. 
Each  volition,  thought  and  sentiment  returns  to  the 
source  of  its  issue  in  order  to  be  reaffirmed  or 
rejected.  Thus  does  each  so-called  element  or  atom. 
They  are  produced  and  consumed  by  the  substance 
of  nature.  All  processes  and  effects  of  life  are  in 
a  continuous  flux  of  mutability,  but  the  producing 
principle  remains  unchangeable. 

When  the  soul  reaches  the  absolute  principle  of 
its  spirituality,  then  it  lives  in  the  principal  creative 
act  of  God,  full  of  power,  understanding,  magnifi- 
cence and  beauty.  And  thus  does  physical  phenom- 
enality.  By  the  creational  law  of  concomitance  it, 
too,  becomes  powerful,  bright,  magnificent  and 
beautiful. 

Souls  are  attracted  by  free  and  profound  sym- 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 1_79 

pathy  with  the  mights  of  God  and  His  ineffable  holi- 
ness, truth  and  love.  There  is  nothing  in  universal 
life  that  bears  any  comparison  with  these  Divine 
sublimities  and  grandeurs.  Even  the  wickedest  soul 
could  not  live  without  possessing  or  appropriating 
at  least  a  small  part  of  this  divine  expression. 

Thus,  according  to  the  degree  of  its  religious 
sympathy  and  intensity,  the  final  sum  of  virtuous 
life,  or  according  to  the  degree  of  its  lack  of  religious 
sympathy  and  interest,  the  final  sum  of  unvirtuous 
content,  the  soul  receives  its  corresponding  existen- 
tial station  on  the  equilibrium  and  planet  for  which, 
out  of  its  own  free  will,  it  has  prepared  itself  to 
continue  the  course  of  its  elevation  or  debasement. 

Consequently,  there  are  two  distinct  courses  of 
life  which  each  soul  is  pursuing — the  inward,  or 
generally  called  the  upward  course,  and  the  out- 
ward or  downward  course,  the  former  being  the 
course  of  divine  approach  and  reconciliation  and 
the  latter  that  of  removal  and  estrangement. 

THE  ASCENT  OR  INWARD  COURSE  OF  LIFE 

Participation  in,  cooperation  with  and  affirma- 
tion of  the  holiness,  truth  and  love  of  God  is  the 
immutable  aim  and  supreme  justice  of  our  life. 

There  is  nothing  comparable  with  the  aim  of  the 


180  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


creational  act  of  God.  Its  sublimity  is  so  patent 
and  its  sacrificial  motive  so  great  that  the  first  reflex 
of  the  worthiness  of  our  life  appals  and  overwhelms 
each  thinking  soul. 

Even  in  our  dreadful  religious  ignorance  we 
instinctively  feel  this  importance  of  life  and  avail 
ourselves  of  all  possible  spiritual  and  physical  pro- 
tection in  order  to  insure  the  continuance  of  the 
intrinsic  purpose  of  life  itself.  There  is  no  sense 
of  self-preservation  without  the  motive  of  the  spir- 
itual purpose. 

The  divine  purpose  of  sacrifice  constitutes  the 
source  and  ground  of  our  life.  Religious  cults 
reveal  the  might  of  sacrifice  more  or  less  adequately, 
and  every  man  of  conscience  feels  the  value  of  sac- 
rifice in  his  inwardness,  irrespective  of  culture  and 
traditional  belief.  Religious  life  means  the  life  of 
virtue,  consisting  in  the  following  of  the  most  sac- 
rificial attributes  of  God. 

Values  of  life  are  estimated  according  to  their 
virtuous  content,  and  all  souls,  despite  the  claims 
of  various  religious  cults,  rise  by  the  increase,  or 
fall  by  the  decrease  of  this  virtuous  content.  Vir- 
tue is  the  sole  divine  test  of  personal  dignity,  and 
the  growth  in  virtue  the  sole  path  to  divine  approach 
and  reconciliation. 

Accordingly,  souls  which,  from  their  coming  on 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 18] 

this  earth  until  their  departure,  have  gained  in  vir- 
tuous predisposition,  as  most  souls  are  gaining,  pass 
to  spheres  which  are  more  adequate  and  favorable 
for  further  rise  than  ours. 

There  the  spiritual  and  natural  conditions  are 
more  inspiring  and  beautiful  and  the  associations 
more  respectful,  beneficial  and  beatifying.  As  these 
souls  become  inwardly  purified  from  their  grossest 
passions,  their  bodies  become  cleaner  and  of  a  finer 
form.  But,  above  all,  the  will  for  virtuous  deeds  is 
stronger,  the  intellect  profounder,  brighter  and  more 
harmonious,  and  the  sentiments  loftier  and  more 
tender  to  others.  There  is  a  greater  spirit  of  divine 
worship,  truth  and  love  and  greater  willingness  for 
mutual  concord  and  soulful  cordiality. 

That  phase  of  life  may  be  of  longer  duration 
than  ours  and  it  may  repeat  itself  under  various  con- 
ditions until  the  soul  makes  itself  ready  for  the  next 
step  toward  the  divine  approach.  But  not  until  the 
next  inward  sphere  is  reached  does  the  soul  notice 
the  great  transformation  of  its  life.  For  the  count- 
less souls  living  in  the  same  sphere  of  suns  differ 
from  each  other  only  slightly,  as  compared  with 
the  souls  that  have  attained  the  next  inward  sphere. 

In  the  stellar  groups  of  the  next  inward  sphere — 
unattainable  by  our  vision — the  conditions  of  life 
differ  very  distinctly.  We  know  that  where  the 


182 RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

radioactive  force  is  by  thousands  of  light  years 
nearer  to  its  radioactive  center,  its  force  is  markedly 
more  powerful,  thus  causing  tremendous  transforma- 
tions and  purity  in  natural  effects. 

Only  souls  intensely  determined  to  live  a  strictly 
virtuous  life  reach  such  a  sphere.  Compared  with 
our  earthly  life,  it  appears  like  a  heaven,  though 
it  is  only  the  next  great  step  in  that  direction.  Very 
few  souls  from  this  earth  pass  directly  to  those 
spheres.  It  would  take  volumes  to  describe,  how- 
ever imperfectly,  the  life  in  this  and  the  following 
spheres.  And  to  describe  such  a  life  would  require 
a  lofty  and  strictly  logical  imagination,  animated 
by  the  spirit  of  all  virtues  and  an  intellectual  power 
thus  far  possessed  by  no  human  being.  Our  world 
is  waiting  for  the  great  eschatological  genius  who 
will  give  us  the  image  of  thousands  of  better  lives 
than  ours. 

Very  little  has  been  written  of  the  future  life, 
and  this  little  is  very  unsatisfactory.  The  serious 
soul  wants  to  see  distinctly  the  justice  of  his  future 
as  well  as  of  his  present  life ;  and  he  cannot  see  this 
justice  unless  the  great  might  and  magnificence  of 
virtues  are  made  clear  to  him. 

The  study  of  the  power  of  virtues  is  the  abso- 
lute condition  of  the  understanding  of  the  true  mean- 
ing of  our  life.  This  study  demands  a  strictly 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 183 

religious  self-observation,  which  seems  to  be  of  so 
little  interest  to  the  average  man.  Where  this  self- 
observation  from  the  standpoint  of  conscience  is  not 
practiced,  man  will  never  be  prepared  to  see  and 
love  and  can  have  neither  interest  in  nor  devotion 
to  the  justice  of  the  highest  and  best  in  life. 

Thus,  if  justice  is  not  the  most  palpable  power 
of  our  dignity  and  character,,  it  cannot  become  the 
living  motive  of  our  aims.  We  may  more  or  less 
willingly  submit  to  it,  but  we  shall  have  no  implicit 
trust  in  its  world-embracing  might. 

We  do  not  endeavor  to  see  the  justice  of  every 
living  object,  nor  even  the  justice  of  our  own  being, 
but  we  are  inclined  to  see  everything  as  objects  of 
our  selfish  desires.  Conscience  and  dignity  are  not 
the  moving  factors  of  our  life.  We  appeal  to  them 
for  our  own  sake,  but  we  do  not  live  them,  and  we 
submit  to  them  rather  through  necessity  than  through 
love. 

Conscience  and  dignity  are  impossible  without  the 
soul-permeating  justice  of  God.  Justice  is  the  most 
insisting  and  penetrating  fact  in  the  whole  creation. 
We  see  and  feel  its  universal  might  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave.  Each  rise  and  fall  of  man  is  a  his- 
tory of  justice.  Worthy  determinations,  thoughts 
and  sentiments  are  the  logic  of  justice,  for  logic  is 
idealized  justice.  No  science  has  a  permanent  basis 


184  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

without  logic,  and  no  logic  has  a  permanent  ground 
without  justice.  Justice  reigns  supreme  in  all  man- 
ifestations of  life.  The  religious  instinct  of  justice 
in  the  soul,  however  unclear  and  erroneous  in  its 
conceptual  applications,  is  intrinsically  right. 

In  order  to  present  a  clearer  view  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  future  life,  let  us  imagine  the  spiritual 
force  of  a  score  of  the,  greatest  religious,  philosoph- 
ical, poetical  and  artistic  geniuses  and  natural  sci- 
entists combined  in  one  personality.  Such  a 
supergenius,  as  we  may  call  him,  having  such  tre- 
mendous knowledge  under  his  personal  control, 
would,  by  the  fact  of  superior  consciousness  of  the 
interrelation  of  all  these  mental  branches,  be  far 
more  powerful  than  the  original  score  of  geniuses 
combined. 

If  we  further  imagine  that  all  mental  and  senti- 
mental defects,  which  even  our  greatest  geniuses  pos- 
sess, are  replaced  by  profounder  insight  and  love, 
the  greatness  of  this  collective  power  would  surpass 
the  expectation  of  the  best  and  most  hopeful  intel- 
lects of  man. 

Great  as  this  attainment  appears,  it  is  only  the 
beginning  of  a  greater  life,  a  beginning  which  each 
soul  must  attain  in  order  markedly  to  approach  God. 

In  this  attainment  alone  the  average  human  soul 
consumes  centuries,  not  because  he  is  not  spiritually 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE [85 

adaptable  or  incapable  of  rising,  but  because  of  his 
religious  slothfulness  and  degrading  self-indulgence 
and  egoism.  Only  those  who  are  animated  with 
the  ardor  of  divine  allegiance  and  the  burning  con- 
sciousness, of  their  eternal  indebtedness  and  grati- 
tude for  the  divine  sacrifice  of  their  life  make  rapid 
strides  toward  eternity.  No  volitional  power  is  too 
distant  for  them  to  attain,  no  suffering  too  painful 
to  endure,  no  apex  of  light  too  high  to  reach  and 
there  is  no  profundity  of  love  and  sacrifice  for  which 
their  souls  do  not  long  with  great  intensity. 

The  soul  must  exert  all  its  virtuous  powers  before 
it  can  reach  half  way  between  our  spheres  and  the 
inward  heavens.  It  must  possess  unabated  energy 
for  sanctification,  a  mentality  surpassing  the  com- 
bined minds  of  the  greatest  spirits  and  scholars  of 
our  earth,  and  a  sentiment  full  of  burning  love  for 
everything  divine. 

In  these  middle  spheres  the  transformation  of  life 
is  already  so  great  that  our  earthly  knowledge 
embraces  too  few  objects  to  furnish  an  approximate 
illustration. 

We  shall  see  far  more  beautiful  suns  than  those 
in  our  own  sphere.  Because  they  are  much  nearer 
to  God,  these  suns  are  filled  with  overwhelming 
expression  of  divine  significance.  Each  observation 
of  these  great  suns  evokes  a  deeply  moving  inspira- 


186  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


tion.  Their  radiance  illustrates  the  history  of  the 
creative  might  of  God.  Each  ray  of  their  light  is 
full  of  ravishing  wonder,  permeating  the  outer 
spheres  with  its  beatifying  might. 

The  atmosphere  of  these  spheres  is  filled  with 
ecstatic  fragrance.  The  light  of  truth  and  warmth 
of  love  form  the  daily  bread  of  spiritual  fruition. 
Heavenly  harmonies  from  the  inward  heavens  reach 
these  spheres  and  reverberate  with  the  joy  of  the 
ultimate  promise,  the  relative  union  of  the  soul  with 
God. 

The  bodies  of  the  great  souls  resident  in  these 
spheres  are  like  beams  of  light,  shining  with  the 
peculiar  hues  of  the  soul's  virtuous  powers.  These 
souls  still  vary  in  the  magnitude  of  their  light  and 
the  intensity  of  various  colors  which  as  yet  are  not 
fully  transparent.  They  have  large  freedom,  and 
the  beautiful  formations  of  their  bodies  are  entirely 
unlike  our  own  dense  and  spiritually  unappealing 
forms. 

The  power  of  their  bodies  corresponds  with  the 
attained  spiritual  splendor  and  beauty  of  their  souls. 
By  the  mere  effect  of  their  tremendous  wills  they 
control  large  parts  of  the  very  substance  of  nature 
and,  by  means  of  their  wonderful  intellects,  they 
produce  effects,  of  which  the  least  are  greater  than 
the  greatest  miracles  of  which  man  can  conceive. 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 187 

Their  knowledge  of  nature  is  so  surpassing  that  our 
greatest  scientists  would  appear  beside  them  like 
little  children  that  have  just  begun  to  learn  the 
A  B  C  of  natural  science. 

From  this  station  the  purified  and  highly  exalted 
soul  sees  with  great  clearness  the  outer  spheres  of 
worlds  surrounding  the  sphere  in  which  he  lives. 
He  understands  everything  in  all  these  tremendous 
spheres  and  innumerable  worlds  of  life,  every  motive 
and  every  station  of  each  spiritual  being,  and  each 
unit  and  compound  of  the  forces  and  formation 
of  nature. 

This  station  constitutes  the  first  degree  of  univer- 
sal knowledge,  with  the  corresponding  power  of 
cooperation  with  the  dominating  and  creational  might 
of  God. 

Divine  justice  becomes  the  consuming  ardor  of 
the  soul,  and  its  activity  in  the  outward  spheres  is 
one  of  the  chief  tasks  of  life.  Surely,  God  has 
His  holy  heralds  cooperating  as  urgers,  guardians 
and  judges.  Even  in  our  distant  world  many  of 
us  receive  inspiration  and  enlightenment  by  virtue 
of  their  mediation. 

These  great  souls  have  learned  to  live  under  the 
continuous  inspiration  of  God,  and  they  impart  this 
inspiration  to  their  weaker  brethren  as  an  old  and 
virtuous  friend  does  with  a  younger  friend.  Those 


188  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


who  have  never  experienced  distinct  virtuous  inspira- 
tions are  not  only  religiously,  but  also  intellectually 
and  sentimentally,  impotent  and  must  depend  on 
some  human  testimony  for  their  spiritual  sustenance. 
The  divine  testimony  in  their  hearts  is  so  weak  that 
they  fear  to  trust  it.  This  spiritual  calamity  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  they  have  never  seriously  searched  for 
the  divine  testimony  in  themselves. 

But  above  all  is  the  indescribable  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  the  saintly  characters  of  these  great  souls 
and  their  profoundly  respectful  associations.  Each 
collective  tendency  flows  from  a  deeply  grounded 
brotherhood.  To  give  the  most  is  their  life. 

Here  begins  the  great  concourse  for  the  holy  pro- 
cession to  the  realms  of  the  inward  heavens.  Here 
the  highly  sanctified  souls  shine  with  ever  greater 
intensity  of  virtues  and,  like  streams  of  light,  each 
movement  a  beatifying  harmony,  they  go  onward 
to  the  profoundest  source  of  Divine  life. 

The  movement  from  the  middle  spheres  to  the  cen- 
ter of  the  divine  heaven  is  the  most  intense  process 
of  life.  With  each  approach  to  the  most  inward 
spheres  grows  the  power  of  the  soul,  and  with 
each  degree  of  increased  power  its  responsibility 
before  God.  The  neglect  of  this  sacred  trust  causes 
the  more  or  less  gradual  fall  of  the  great  souls  above 
us.  Great  dignity  involves  the  task  of  great  respon- 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 189 

sibility.  Souls  not  inclined  to  undertake  great 
responsibilities  must  remain  small,  and  it  is  this 
smallness  which  causes  the  fatalistic  mood  in  their 
mentality  and  sentiments. 

The  sense  of  justice  is  sustained  and  developed 
through  great  responsibilities.  Hence,  if  the  soul  is 
endowed  with  such  tremendous  power  as  it  has  in 
the  nearness  to  God,  its  responsibility  grows  to  the 
height  of  dignity  which  is  inconceivable  to  the  human 
mind.  We  can  only  have  a  vague  and  subconscious 
feeling  of  this  power. 

Planets,  solar  systems,  all  groups  of  solar  systems 
and  the  incalculable  spheres,  with  their  infinite  inten- 
sities of  life,  all  these  are  the  field  of  their  activity. 

With  each  approach  to  God,  the  imparting  of 
divine  power  becomes  greater,  until  the  final  and 
supreme  likeness  of  God  is  reached. 

In  those  heavens  the  hierarchy  of  Divine  holiness 
is  established  and  the  perfect  participation  in,  coop- 
eration with  and  affirmation  of  the  ineffable  and 
almighty  attributes  of  God  is  realized.  Perfectly 
sanctified  souls  are  God-like,  endowed  with  the 
magnificence  of  the  mights  of  God.  Their  life  con- 
sists in  the  holy  dominion  with  God  and  in  the  per- 
fect, though  dependent,  association  with  Him. 

It  requires  a  tremendous  and  accurate  insight  into 
and  a  profound  experience  of  the  heavenly  power  of 


190  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


virtues  in  order  to  attain  only  an  imperfect  under- 
standing of  the  reality  of  this  great  life.  It  so 
greatly  transcends  the  power  of  human  imagination 
that  only  through  inductive  logic  are  we  capable 
of  its  apprehension. 

The  great  aim  of  our  life,  however,  is  clear,  and 
each  nobler  soul  feels  this  fact  in  his  conscience  and 
in  his  heart. 

THE  FALL  OR  OUTWARD  COURSE  OF  LIFE 

The  experience  of  our  present  life  unfolds  a  great 
variety  of  spiritual  lapses  resulting  from  a  more  or 
less  distinct  devotion  to  passions. 

These  lapses  are  judged  according  to  the 
accepted  standard  of  life.  And  standards  of  life 
are  caused  by  the  more  or  less  active  power  of  col- 
lective conscience. 

Thus,  where  the  standard  of  life  is  high,  indi- 
vidual lapses  are  rarer  and  generally  less  important. 
In  the  opposite  case,  individual  lapses  are  more  fre- 
quent, graver  and,  if  not  conspicuously  criminal, 
they  are  usually  considered  as  common  occurrences. 

Since  the  real  standard  of  life  consists  intrinsically 
in  the  virtuous  dignity  of  life,  life  in  all  its  activity, 
mentality  and  sentimentality  cannot  be  rightly  esti- 
mated save  from  the  standpoint  of  its  highest  spir- 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 19] 

itual  dignity.  All  other  standards  are  vague, 
desultory  and  fail  to  lead  us  to  the  serious  and  right 
understanding  of  the  real  value  of  social  and  indi- 
vidual life. 

All  deeds,  however  important  or  inconspicuous, 
are  the  result  of  free  determination,  the  activity  of 
our  self-conscious  and  self-sentient  will.  Uncon- 
scious and  unsentient  deeds  do  not  exist.  Conse- 
quently, each  unworthy  deed  is  a  clear  lapse  from 
the  worthiness,  wisdom  and  love  for  which  our  self- 
conscious  and  self-sentient  will  is  created,  and  there- 
fore constitutes  the  intrinsic  sin  and  dishonor  of  the 
soul  and  the  real  evil  of  our  life. 

The  whole  individual  and  collective  evil  derives 
from  our  wicked  determinations,  ignorance  and  sel- 
fishness, the  direct  consequence  of  the  absence  of 
humility,  wisdom  and  love. 

There  are  no  other  evils  except  those  deriving 
from  wicked  determinations.  All  so-called  natural 
evils  are  merely  the  concomitant  expressions  or  illus- 
trations of  spiritual  evils.  In  themselves  natural 
evils  are  no  evils,  for  nature  has  neither  the  capacity 
for  nor  the  form  of  responsibility. 

Spiritual  life  consists  principally  in  the  accumula- 
tion of  virtuous  or  unvirtuous  sentiments.  Conse- 
quently, as  each  accumulation  of  and  perseverance 


192  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

in  virtuous  sentiments  adds  force  to  the  ascent  or 
inward  course,  thus  each  accumulation  of  and  per- 
sistence in  unvirtuous  sentiments  adds  force  to  the 
fall  or  outward  course  of  the  soul.  In  each  instance 
the  spiritual  being  stands  before  this  alternative.  It 
either  rises  in  power  of  conscience  and  consequent 
dignity,  or  lowers  its  power  of  conscience  and  falls 
beneath  its  attained  worthiness. 

The  justice  of  the  rise  and  fall  is  immediate,  for 
the  justice  of  the  intrinsic  capacity  of  the  soul  pre- 
cedes all  its  deeds.  All  human  deeds  are  invariably 
preceded  by  the  just  or  unjust  predisposition  accord- 
ing to  which  they  unfold  themselves.  The  average 
human  intellect  is  too  weak  to  have  a  clear  under- 
standing of  the  soul's  inward  standpoint  of  justice. 
In  order  to  conceive  the  just  value  of  each  soul  we 
must  know  the  history  of  its  past  determinations, 
the  result  of  which  invariably  lies  in  the  complex  of 
its  sentiments. 

Sentiments  do  not  come  of  themselves,  imper- 
sonally or  unconsciously.  They  are  the  fruitional 
result  of  our  determinations,  a  fact  which  is  evident 
in  all  our  psychological  processes.  Hence  the  state 
of  our  sentimental  complex  is  clearly  indicative  of 
past  determinations. 

To  maintain  or  even  to  consent  to  the  opinion 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 1 93 

that  this  life  is  our  first  life  in  the  history  of  Divine 
creation  is  an  insult  to  reason,  conscience,  religion 
and  the  justice  of  God. 

The  belief  in  an  incidental  creation  in  time  and 
space  is  one  of  the  most  debasing  of  all  religious 
opinions.  No  wonder,  when  such  views  are  accepted, 
that  the  thoughtful  man  cannot  see  the  justice  of 
Divine  creation  and  hence  cannot  believe  in  God, 
much  less  have  faith  in  Him. 

The  history  of  souls  reaches  back  into  Divine 
eternity,  which  cannot  be  logically  defined  in  terms 
of  time  and  space.  Time  and  space  are  not  eternal 
attribues  of  the  Absolute,  but  creational  relative 
forms  in  which  the  whole  creation  lives.  They  are 
only  the  natural  reflex  of  eternity  and  as  such  the 
existential  measure  of  life.  Thus  time  is  the  inten- 
sive and  space  the  extensive  measure  of  life.  All 
spiritual  and  natural  life  needs  time  for  its  chang- 
ing growth  and  decline,  and  space  for  the  external 
manifestation  of  its  inherent  content  and  force. 

In  the  religious  view,  all  facts  of  life  must  be 
demonstrable  from  the  absolute  standpoint  of  the 
holiness,  truth  and  love  of  God,  and  His  perfect 
almightiness  of  sacrificial  creation,  in  order  to  impart 
conviction.  The  slightest  failure  in  this  effort  breeds 
skepticism,  fatalism  and  fanaticism. 


194  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

Wherein  consists  the  fall  of  the  sou/P 

The  fall  of  the  soul  consists  in  its  alienation  from 
the  Voice  of  God  and  in  its  consequent  following 
of  the  impulses  of  passions. 

Each  passion  impedes  the  operation  of  conscience 
and  debases  the  soul's  character.  If  obstinately  and 
intently  pursued,  it  not  only  impedes  but  disdains 
conscience,  in  which  event,  under  the  pressure  of 
the  insult  to  Divine  majesty,  the  Voice  of  God 
becomes  silent. 

The  silence  of  the  Voice  of  God  is  the  most 
fearful  instant  in  spiritual  life.  This  just  silence  is 
not  yet  a  condemnation,  but  a  waiting  for  the  return 
of  the  soul  into  the  sphere  of  Divine  operation, 
which  accounts  for  the  Divine  magnanimity  and 
generally  incomprehensible  patience  toward  so  many 
wicked  souls. 

If  the  sinfulness  of  the  soul  is  not  intense,  it  merely 
loses  its  favorable  station  and  is  relegated  to  severer 
conditions  of  life,  where  it  will  be  more  palpably 
taught  that  higher  aims  must  be  maintained  with  pro- 
found respect  and  gratefulness. 

If,  however,  the  soul  obdurately  persists  in  its 
debasing  sinfulness,  it  falls  by  the  weight  of  its  inhu- 
manity into  the  animal  spheres,  where  the  light  of 
conscience  is  reduced  to  a  mere  instinctive  feeling 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 195 

of  the  right  and  wrong,  and  where  the  sense  of  adora- 
tion, esteem,  truth  and  love  is  replaced  by  fear,  con- 
tempt, cunning  and  hatred. 

Many  souls  are  moving  outward  from  better 
worlds  than  ours.  They  may  be  identified  through 
the  possession  of  a  certain  degree  of  refinement  and 
greater  alertness  of  mind,  and  such  souls  usually 
acquire  the  most  favorable  stations  in  the  human 
community.  But,  since  the  tendency  of  most  of 
them  is  toward  vanity  and  self-gratification,  and  not 
toward  the  growth  in  virtue,  by  which  force  alone 
the  unintelligent  and  helpless  mass  of  humanity  can 
be  efficiently  served,  their  pitiful  future  is  inevitable. 

The  sphere  of  animal  souls  is  altogether  too  little 
understood.  They  must  be  viewed  from  the  same 
standpoint  as  the  human  soul.  Each  spiritual  being, 
whether  human  or  animal,  must  be  estimated  generi- 
cally,  collectively  and  individually  by  the  power  of 
its  virtues  and  passions.  For  virtue  and  passion  is 
the  sole  measure  and  test  of  life.  Any  other  test 
is  superficial  and  intrinsically  groundless. 

To  each  animal  a  due  amount  of  kindness  must 
be  applied  in  order  to  make  it  serviceable  to  our 
own  life  and  by  this  service  raise  it  to  the  dignity 
of  worthy  cooperation.  There  are  animals  which 
render  more  service  to  humanity  than  many  human 
beings.  Why  should  man  retain  the  appearance  of 


196  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 

a  human  being  if  he  has  forfeited  his  human  dignity? 

The  concept  that  animals  have  no  immortal  souls 
grew  out  of  the  bottomless  conceit  of  the  human 
mind  without  conscience. 

Who  creates  those  animal  souls?  Do  they  create 
themselves?  Or  were  they  created  by  the  devil, 
as  one  orthodox  writer  unguardedly  suggested? 

Do  thoughtless  and  merciless  men  believe  that 
God  looks  on  the  indiscriminate  killing  of  animals 
with  indifference?  Does  it  not  occur  to  the  so-called 
sportsman  that,  according  to  the  law  of  justice,  he 
makes  himself  liable  to  the  charge  of  debasing 
cruelty  ? 

Indeed,  there  is  cruelty  in  our  low  world 
and  particularly  among  animals.  But  this  cruelty 
is  the  manifest  consequence  of  cruel  dispositions,  of 
the  low,  sinful  state  into  which  depraved  souls  have 
fallen.  They  have  practiced  cruelty  on  others  and 
reciprocally  cruelty  is  practiced  on  them. 

Cruelty  is  the  distinct  feature  of  the  lowest  degra- 
dation of  souls.  Hence  their  monstrously  ugly 
bodies,  the  natural  instrument  and  expression  of 
their  hideous  lives.  We  have  had  cruel  men  who 
by  sheer  physical  force  have  tortured  and  destroyed 
thousands  of  lives.  What  are  such  men  to  become 
in  the  future  life,  if  not  incarnate  brutes  and  mon- 
sters who  by  incessant  hatred  destroy  each  other? 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 1197 

The  proud  will  of  such  a  soul,  snarling  with  hatred, 
becomes  a  force  of  destruction  which,  in  the  event 
of  brutal  victory,  is  always  filled  with  vaunting 
superiority.  It  is  the  same  "I  have  got  him"  of  the 
minor  selfish  performances  of  the  dishonorable  human 
will.  "Right  or  wrong,"  he  shows  his  force,  and 
this  is  all  he  wants  to  accomplish. 

Countless  are  the  degrees  of  the  fall  of  the  souls. 
Each  positive  value  which  the  soul  has  retained  in 
its  complex  of  sentiments  is  guarded  in  its  tem- 
porary course  by  the  justice  of  providential 
conditions. 

From  each  station  of  debasement  the  soul  is  capa- 
ble of  retracing  its  inward  or  upward  course  and  of 
regaining  a  worthier  station.  But  if  the  soul  obsti- 
nately determines  itself  to  remain  in  its  wicked  state, 
there  is  only  one  way  to  bring  it  to  the  consciousness 
of  its  wretchedness,  and  this  way  is  through  the 
inexorable  justice. 

Yet,  even  in  this  horrible  state  of  ruthless  pas- 
sions, providential  conditions  in  themselves  are  by 
no  means  cruel.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  mild 
and  merciful.  Each  animal  soul  loves  its  life  and 
lives  with  many  little  joys. 

It  is  the  loss  of  the  consciousness  and  distinct  feel- 
ing of  the  holy  dignity  of  life  which  causes  their 
spiritual  wretchedness  and  the  consequent  limitations 


198  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


of  providential  conditions.  And  this  patent  fact 
constitutes  the  radical  difference  between  the  human 
and  the  animal  soul. 

The  objection  that  it  is  impossible  to  accept  the 
animal  soul  as  the  "image  of  God"  arises  from  the 
misconception  of  this  image.  It  is  only  the  super- 
spiritual  ground  of  the  soul  or  conscience  which  is 
the  real  image  of  God.  Neither  the  superhuman, 
human  or  animal  soul  per  se  is  the  image  of  God, 
but  a  spiritual  adaptation  made  to  follow  this  image 
or  a  spiritual  reflex  of  this  image. 

This  misconception  is  due  to  the  general  lack  of 
discrimination  between  the  superspiritual  ground  and 
the  intrinsic  spiritual  force  of  the  soul.  The  soul  and 
conscience  have  thus  far  been  erroneously  regarded 
as  an  integral  spiritual  unit,  conscience  being  merely 
the  moral  quality  of  reason.  From  the  standpoint 
of  this  premise,  so  utterly  untrue  in  theory  and  actual 
practice,  no  religious  fact  can  be  explained  either 
logically  or  psychologically.  And  this  is  precisely 
the  failure  of  all  traditional  creeds  and  moral 
theories. 

With  the  exception  of  those  who  still  believe  in 
an  evil  principle,  all  creeds  claim  the  harmony  of 
the  universe  with  the  creative  will  of  God.  But 
their  narrow  standpoint  of  religious  ideas  and  the 
consequent  lack  of  mental  elevation  prevents  them 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 199 

from  substantiating  that  claim  and  compels  them  to 
seek  for  refuge  in  mystery,  as  if  mystery  were  the 
last  beam  of  divine  light.  Mystery  is  always  the 
final  refuge  of  all  who  have  little  or  no  knowledge 
of  God  and  of  religion. 

The  sacred  science  of  religion  demands  the  full 
explanation  of  the  universal  facts  of  life,  but  only 
a  few  have  the  intense  desire  to  devote  their  whole 
energy  to  this  sublime  cause. 

The  life  and  value  of  each  soul  consists  in  its 
freely  acquired  complex  of  sentiments.  Sentiments, 
in  either  the  worthy  or  unworthy  direction,  have, 
humanly  speaking,  an  infinite  scale  of  degrees  of 
intensity.  Each  degree  consists  of  a  definite  quan- 
tity of  worthy  or  unworthy  sentiments.  And  it  is 
according  to  this  qualitative  and  quantitative  achieve- 
ment of  sentiments  toward  God  or  against  God  that 
each  soul  receives  its  just  providential  form  and 
station. 

Worthy  souls  concentrate  their  energies  of  will 
on  the  acquisition  of  virtues,  and  continue  to  grow 
in  this  acquisition,  until  they  reach  the  most  inward 
or  highest  spheres  of  life,  called  heaven.  Unworthy 
souls,  on  the  other  hand,  concentrate  their  energies 
on  the  acquisition  of  passions,  and  continue  to  grow 
in  this  acquistion,  until  they  reach  the  most  distant 
spheres  from  God,  called  hell. 


200  RELIGION  OF  THE  SOUL 


Our  whole  life  is  a  divine  process  of  justice. 
Those  who  ardently  desire  and  want  to  be  with 
God  are  near  Him  and  partake  in  the  eternal  life 
of  His  holiness,  truth  and  love.  Here  the  full  power, 
vision  and  fruition  of  life  are  consummated.  And 
those  who  do  not  desire  and  want  to  be  with  God 
are  removed  from  His  nearness  to  the  most  out- 
ward spheres  of  creation,  there  to  partake  in  the 
undivine  life  of  passions,  full  of  strife  and  ignominy, 
until,  crushed  by  the  abomination  of  their  wretched 
state,  they  decide  to  retrace  their  steps  to  God. 

Our  souls,  living  in  the  outer  spheres  of  creation, 
see  much  debasement,  because  the  mass  of  men  are 
habitually  guilty  of  debasing  deeds.  Our  will  is 
far  more  efficient  in  matters  of  common  profit,  vanity 
and  sensual  delight  than  in  virtuous  achievements. 
The  confusion  of  the  human  mind  is  distressing, 
even  among  our  intellectual  leaders.  The  masses 
are  led  like  a  flock  to  all  sorts  of  ideals,  except  such 
as  awaken  conscience,  self-respect  and  responsibility 
before  God  and  our  fellow-beings.  The  human 
heart  is  more  anxious  for  its  own  satisfaction  than 
for  the  welfare  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  It  has  little 
or  no  sympathy  for  others.  Men  more  readily  spend 
millions  on  luxuries  than  thousands  for  the  edifica- 
tion of  the  human  soul.  These  undeniable  facts 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE 201 

constitute  the  collective  testimony  concerning  the 
value  of  the  human  race. 

What  we  most  need  is  a  profounder  awakening 
of  justice  in  our  souls,  but  to  accomplish  this  abso- 
lute necessity  the  human  conscience  must  be  stirred 
and  cultivated  by  better  educational  means  than 
those  in  common  practice. 

Above  all,  our  churches  must  have  more  con- 
science, our  educational  institutions  and  leaders  of 
man  must  have  more  conscience,  and  in  all  our  rela- 
tions conscience  must  be  the  supreme  arbiter  and 
bond  of  life.  Then  we  shall  clearly  hear  the  Voice 
of  God  and  attain  the  true  religion  of  the  soul. 


THE  LAST  WORD  OF  CONSCIENCE 

I  am  the  living  Voice  of  God  that  dwelleth 
in  thy  inwardness. 

I  am  the  dominating  might  and  rule  of 
worthy  life,  the  sole  path  of  sanctification, 
immortal  glory,  light  and  beatitude. 

I  inspire  and  fortify  thy  will,  I  enlighten 
thy  thought  and  I  warm  thy  heart,  for  the 
sake  of  participation  in  the  holiness  of  God, 
for  the  sake  of  cooperation  with  His  al- 
mightiness,  and  for  the  sake  of  affirming  thy 
life  in  His  ever  blessing  and  beatifying 
eternity. 

I  am  the  leader  of  worlds  and  souls,  the 
divine  oracle  of  justice,  the  faithful  path- 
finder of  light  and  love,  the  uplifter  from 
sins  and  the  sole  consolation  in  misery  and 
suffering. 

I  am  the  proclaimer  of  thy  divine  child- 
ship,  thy  most  intimate  and  faithful  guide, 
the  life  of  exalted  friendship  and  spiritual 
brotherhood,  the  protector  of  innocence  and 
the  sole  might  that  never  yields  to  wicked- 
ness and  sin. 

I  am  the  living  Voice  of  God,  which  for- 
ever resounds  in  every  place  and  creature. 

202 


LAST  WORD  OF  CONSCIENCE 203 

Thou  canst  not  close  thy  soul  to  my  Voice. 
I  am  with  thee  in  every  moment  of  thy  life, 
for  I  am  the  eternal  urge  to  great  and  lofty 
deeds,  the  verdict  of  righteous  judgment 
and  the  blessing  of  all  sacrifices. 

I  am  the  eternal  teacher  of  sacrifice,  for 
my  Voice  is  the  eternal  message  from  the 
profundity  of  sacrificial  Divinity. 

The  praise  of  God  is  the  eternal  object  of 
my  speaking  power.  My  Voice  pleads  and 
invites  thee  to  praise  and  love  with  me  the 
holiness,  truth  and  love  of  God,  that  thou 
mayest  partake  in  and  be  blessed  by  these 
Divine  mights  and  their  imperishable  glories. 

The  sooner  thou  followest  my  Voice,  the 
sooner  wilt  thou  be  free  from  the  danger 
of  unrighteous  and  debasing  passions,  the 
sooner  thy  determination  will  be  pure  and 
strong,  thy  mind  clear  and  lofty  and  thy 
heart  filled  with  joy  everlasting.  For  I  am 
the  unfailing  promise  of  the  everlasting  life 
of  glory,  light  and  beatitude. 


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